Mirai Ladybug
by OACrutchfeild
Summary: Marinette is horrified when a diary that tells the future, given by what she thought to be an imaginary friend, sends her spiraling into a killing game, where the winner will become god. She teams up with her longterm crush, Adrien... but he's hiding secrets darker than she knows. As the bodies pile up, Marinette has to wonder- how much of this survival, and how much is a game?
1. Chapter 1

He watched her in class, glancing behind himself, up at her on her phone. He was sure she had one of the diaries. There was no way she didn't, too many things were matching up. Did she know about he game yet though... that was the question. He offered her a soft smile before turning back to the front of the room. This should be confronted sooner, rather than later...

Marinette was doodling on her sketchpad, lost in thought. Her mind was far away, with the pink journal hidden in her room, the one that, as of late, had been filled with the day's events when she woke up... she was startled out of her contemplation by Adrien's smile, and flushed, shyly returning the it as the final bell rang. She waved to her best friend as the redhead dashed out of the room to go catch up with Nino, and headed to the door...

"Did yours tell you I'd stop you after class? Or did I change the future?"

She yelped as Adrien's hand clamped around her wrist, and she peered up at him, her face heating. The diary was right...he'd stopped her. "W-What are you talking about?" she stammered, heart pounding.

He lifted her hand, brushing it with his lips. "I'm here to protect you from the game. To stop you from dying today."

Her face turned from red to pale quick as a flash. "D-Dying?" she pushed away from him. "Look, I really don't know what you'e talking about. I have to get home," she gasped out, before tearing out of the building. She had to read the diary, NOW.

He landed in front of her, pulling out his cell phone. "Don't run from me," he told her, stroking her face. "I'm on your side, my Lady. I have a diary too."

She skidded right into his arms and her face lit up like a stop sign. "Keep it down!" she hissed, glancing around the schoolyard. "Can we talk about this somewhere private?"

He grinned. "I'd love that," he murmured, tracing the veins along her wrists.

She blushed a deeper shade of crimson. "My parent's bakery. C'mon." She pulled him along the road, head spinning. Adrien? He had a diary? But Tikki never said anything about another person having one... and Tikki was all in her head, anyway. The diary was all in her head. So then how...?

Her father waved at Adrien good-naturedly, while her mother looked very excited as Marinette pulled the blond boy up to her room and shut the door. She turned around, meaning to question him on all this, and...

He pinned her to the wall, kissing her deeply.

Her eyes went huge, as the breath caught in her throat. He broke away, smiling, and pulled out his phone again. A diary had been kept on it... with entries every ten minutes. Every one of them about her. "Now, Princess. It says here that if you stay here, you'll be killed by the third diary holder. But I will not let that happen, alright?"

She stood there, dumbstruck for a few moments before she shook off her shock. "But... how? How do you know more about this than I do?" she walked over to her drawer and unlocked it, pulling out a small book, flipping through the pages.

"My diary is more compact, and updates faster. And it's all about you, every ten minutes. I saw the new updates from Third's movements," he explained quickly. "The diary of Love is for your benefit, as am I."

"I see..." she murmured, opening the book and flipping through the pages. After finding the newest entry, she covered her mouth. "It says the third diary holder is on their way..."

"We need to go," he responded instantly. "Grab a weapon, anything you can. I've got my fencing swords, but I don't think you'll want to stab anyone," he frowned, looking out the window as a person dressed in green and rollarblades appeared below them.

She looked around and ran down the stairs. Her parents had gone down to the shop area, but luckily, her father left a frying pan in the sink. She grabbed it and turned to Adrien. "Now what?"

He laughed slightly. "Now we see if you can run carrying that thing." He grabbed her hand, and pulled her through the streets, until they reached an alleyway. The notification read on his phone, and he frowned. "Your death hasn't disappeared," he murmured, as the person in green appeared. "Close your eyes, Marinette."

She turned around as the person in green cornered them in the alley, an evil grin on their face. She looked at Adrien for a long moment. "I trust you." She shut her eyes and stepped a few feet back.

There was a scream, as the sword sliced through the body, and her wrists were gripped again as the diaries changed. "You're safe," he promised her. "Now, it seems that the Miraculous hasn't been explained to you. Right?"

She didn't open her eyes, terrified to see what Adrien had done to the person. Tears dripped down her cheeks as she hiccuped and shook her head.

He nodded. "Right. Close your eyes, and focus. And we'll go into the casualty continueum, to see Tikki and Plagg, and the other holders."

She took a deep breath to regain her composure, then shut her eyes. When they opened, they were standing in a circle with nine others. One spot was empty, replaced by a 'Dead End' sign. Adrien offered a smile, though all faces were hidden. Tikki stood in the center. "Hello, holders."

Marinette looked around, frightened by the sudden change in scenery. She held onto Adrien's hand as she turned her attention to Tikki.

"I am dying," the god of fate said calmly. "And one of you will replace me. The last alive after the next thirty days." She smiled sweetly. "You have each been given a tool to find the other diary holders- a vessel to predict the future, based on the diaries you were already keeping. Now, your diaries can be changed by the actions of other holders, so be careful! Third has already died, killed by Second and First. Now- survive." The place disappeared, all eyes focusing on Adrien and Marinette, murderously. The pair landed in a cathedral, shaking. Marinette clung to Adrien unconsciously, scared by all the murderous looks the others had given her. "We have to kill people?" she managed to say after a while.

He stroked her hair, looking at her devotedly. "Don't worry, Mari," he whispered. "I'll protect you."

She looked up at him, tears brimming in her eyes. "Adrien, what if you get killed?! I don't want to lose you!" She clamped her hands over her mouth, still crying and her face turning red in embarrassment.

He kissed her again, softer. "I won't let myself be killed until it's time for you to kill me, alright?" he took her hands."You're getting out of this alive."

She took shaky breaths, then suddenly grabbed his collar and kissed him harder. Something about the adrenaline in her veins and the fact that Adrien would give his life for her was mixing together, making her desperate to be closer to him

He held her close to him, joy filling him. Finally... finally... he had her. If only for a moment.


	2. Chapter 2

He sent her the hundredth message that night, checking in on her, and laughed softly. The sun was coming up, wasn't it? Almost time to go and walk her to school... he wondered if she'd let him kiss her again.

Marinette responded, yet again, to Adrien's message. She hadn't got much sleep that night after what she'd seen the other day. She rubbed her eyes and grabbed her bag, which contained the diary, and ran downstairs for breakfast... to find him waiting at the end of the staircase. "Sorry, I picked the lock on the door," he laughed. "Shall we get going?"

She jumped back. "Adrien, you can't break into my house!"

He frowned. "Why not? I'm trying to protect you. Don't forget there's nine others gunning for you."

"I know that, it's just..." She blushed, running a hand through her hair. "My parents might get the wrong idea, and then what?"

He tilted his head. "They can't get rid of me. You should know that much." He took her hand, walking her to the school cheerfully. "Ah, you're so lovely, Mari! You're gonna be the best god ever!"

Marinette flushed red again as they entered the school courtyard, and gave Alya a nervous smile and mouthed "I'll explain later."

He noticed the exchange, and frowned, pulling her closer to himself. "Her."

She looked confused as Alya walked away to talk with someone else. "Alya? Don't worry, I won't tell her about the diary and all that...

"

"You cannot tell anyone," he held onto her hands, staring into her eyes. "Trust nobody but me, ok?"

She looked away for a second, then nodded. "Okay, I promise…"

He smiled. "I have fencing right now. But we'll talk later, alright?"

"Alright! See you later!" She said, then gave him a peck on the cheek before running off to where Alya was with Rose.

A few minutes later, a blond girl in black and yellow stopped her. "Pardon? May we speak... privately, for a moment?"

Marinette turned her head and was about to say yes, when she stopped herself short. The girl was... familiar... Her eyes flicked to her satchel, where her diary lay hidden. "Sorry, but I need to go help the teacher!" she laughed, pasting a smile to her face. In the back of her mind, she told herself to stay calm.

The girl grabbed her wrist, latching her in place. "What's in the bag?"

She yanked her arm away. "Just my wallet and my cell phone..." she trailed off as she turned, finding a gun pressed to her forehead.

"Now, trash, let's not tell lies, hmm?"

In the back of her mind, Marinette heard screams, but she couldn't quite understand as she stared down the barrel. She couldn't move, as if her veins had suddenly been filled with cement.

In a flash, she was being pushed to the ground, and soon she was running with Adrien as gunshots rang out. "I'm so sorry, I came as soon as I saw in the diary!"

She stumbled, then took off as she practically dragged Adrien behind her. "We can't just leave! Our classmates are back there!"

"Marinette, she wants you and me. She's a holder, didn't you see? She trailed us!"

"I kinda figured," she said, ducking behind a trash can in an alley not far from the school. "But I didn't think there'd be any civilian casualties."

"They don't matter to us!" he snapped. "Why should they? Princess, if we go back there..."

"They do matter!" Marinette said, turning to face him. "They're our friends! I'm not having them die because of us! We just need to get her out of the school and away from other people!"

He ran a hand through his hair, sighing. "Fine... If it makes you happy..."

"Yes, it will" She said with relief, peeking around the corner. "All we need is a distraction to get her over here."

He frowned, glancing at the already-shot. "Bring me Marinette!" the girl cackled. "Or I'll kill you all!"

Rose was already clipped by a shot and was sobbing in Alya's arm. Marinette looked over her shoulder at Adrien. "How good are you with the sword? Can you move pretty quick?"

"I can try-" he was cut off by laughter. "You! Maritrash! The courtyard's been filled with mines, all around me!" she called down. "Now, if you don't come meet your doom, they'll all detonate!"

"Well, here's hoping for luck." She kissed his cheek before standing up. She ran around the corner and shouted, "Over here!"

He stared at her in shock. "Mari, are you insane?"

"Over here, you blonde fashion disaster!" she shouted again. "I'm the one you want!"

The girl snickered. "Come on then. Come at me!"

Adrien pressed something round into Marinette's hand. "I'll tell you where the mines are. Aim for her eyes."

Her hand closed around the item and she hid it up her jacket sleeve. She walked towards the girl, her head hung in defeat.

The girl cackled. "Oh, the mighty first, completely defeated! Third was a fluke, wasn't she?"

She lifted her head, not close enough to use the thing Adrien had given her. She hoped that Adrien was doing something while she was standing in front of this crazy person. "Let the hostages go. They have nothing to do with this, and there's nothing to gain from their deaths."

She shrugged. "They got you to come out, and me one step closer to being a god."

"But if you kill them, the police will be on your tail. It'll make it much harder to kill the others," she counterd, taking a few more steps. Almost close enough...

"Most are dying, and the police are on my tail already," the blonde winked. "Don't you recognize me from the news? I'm offended!"

Marinette's gaze flickered to the people lying on the ground, her classmates and friends. Fury rose up inside her, and she rushed the girl, pulling out what Adrien had given her- a red yo-yo.

The yo-yo hit it's mark, knocking her to the ground... setting off the bombs. She was knocked back from the blast, and she lay there for a moment, her ears ringing. She landed softly, protected by a pair of arms... She looked up at Adrien, then jumped in surprise as a tear splashed onto her hand. She didn't know she was crying...

Adrien pressed his lips to Marinette's, gently. "Shh... it's ok. We're alive. She's gone. You were amazing. You've always been so amazing, so brave, and so strong..."

She looked at the carnage of the explosion and burrowed deeper into Adrien's arms. Nothing was worth all this...

He held her close. "Are you mad at me?"

"No," she promised, shivering. "I'm really scared. Adrien, we almost..."

"Don't be," he kissed her again. "I promised I'd protect you. I will."

"But is it worth it in the end?" She whispered to herself, as police started rushing over to the injured teenagers.

"It has to be," he kissed her forehead, and both cheeks. "To keep you alive, I will kill anyone."

Marinette didn't respond.

"Do you need medical assistance?" one paramedic asked softly, approaching them.

"We're fine," Adrien smiled sweetly. "I've got her."

The paramedic nodded and gave the pair a blanket. "Stay here, the police will need testimonials from you."

He frowned. "Let's get out of here, Princess. The police are bad news."

Marinette nodded and got up to her feet shakily.

He took her home, and kissed her cheek. "I'll definitely kill her."

"Do we... have to?" she said, sitting on her bed. "Adrien, you have to start thinking... What will we do if it's just us left?"

He hugged her. "You'll kill me. Or I could kill myself, if you like."

"No!" she exclaimed, wrapping her arms around him. "I don't want to lose you! Nothing is worth someone's life!"

"Then you can just bring me back, once you're god, ok?" he smiled brightly.

She nodded and rested her forehead on his. "Okay."

"Until that day, you are mine to protect. Always."

She shut her eyes and leaned on him, exhaustion flooding through her body.

"Are you tired?" he cocked his head.

"y-Yeah" She said, opening her eyes a crack. "I guess after everything that's happened so far, I haven't had time for much sleep..."

"Mind if I keep watch while you sleep?"

"Mhm" She said, shutting her eyes again and laying back on her bed, setting the diary next to her.

He stroked her hair, humming softly. "Dream well."

She fell into a deep, dreamless sleep. When she finally woke up, the sky had turned into shades of orange and red, and Adrien was still at her side. He hadn't left for a moment. "Are you awake, mon ange?"

"Mhm" She yawned, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. "Shouldn't you get home? It's getting late..."

"Nobody will look for me," he laughed softly. "Anyway, last time I left your side, you were almost shot."

"It's not your fault," she murmured, listening to her parents bustle around the kitchen. "I have to go to dinner, can you wait up here? It'll be hard to explain you being in my room while I slept."

He nodded. "For now."

"Okay, I'll bring up some food for you, okay?" She kissed his forehead, something that had become a regular thing to her, before descending the stairs

He watched her, and began checking his diary, seeing every move she made through the predictions. He wondered if she'd put together how long he'd been stal... watching her, or if she just didn't care...

After a bit, she said goodnight to her parents and climbed back upstairs. "Sorry I couldn't sneak anything from the dinner table," she apologized setting a plate of cookies in front of him.

He grinned. "This works fine, I wasn't planning to eat at all."

"You should eat something." She said, placing her hand on his cheek. "Wait here, I need to take a shower."

He nodded. "I'll stay here unless the diary says you're in danger."

"Okay" She said, grabbing her pajamas and disappearing into the bathroom.

After a warm shower, she walked out of the bathroom in her comfiest pjs. She sat next to him and asked, "You want to shower too? I can watch out for anything."

"I took one while you were asleep."

"O-Oh, okay." She crossed her legs, hugging her pillow. "Hey Adrien?"

"Yes Mari?" He sat beside her.

"Why... Why are you doing all this?" She said, pulling the pillow tighter to her chest. "Why are you risking your life for me?"

He tilted his head. "You don't know?"

"I really don't," she said, peeking over at him. "I mean, I'm not as amazing as you think I am. I'm clumsy, I can't fight, and I couldn't work up the courage to tell you how I felt. Why would you throw away the chance to be a god, all for me?"

He looked down. "When I came to the school... things had just gotten really bad. And you... offered me a second chance."

"When I first met you, I accused you of putting gum on my chair," she smiled sadly at the memory. "What could I have done to help you?"

"You didn't stay angry," he smiled back, a real smile. "You let me help you, even after everything. You said I was good."

"I'm usually not a liar. You are good. She rested a hand on his.

"I am with you."

"You're good all the time. I know how much you try to please people, and put other peoples' wants before your own. "

He cocked his head. "I killed yesterday. And today, I caused more deaths."

"They were trying to kill you and me. You did what you had to," she shifted in discomfort. "Let's change the subject, please."

He smiled brightly. "I want you to go out with me. Tomorrow."

"Out? Like a date?" she asked, flushing. She didn't know why she was getting flustered; he'd already kissed her before... and he watched her sleep... which was a little creepy, to be honest... if it wasn't Adrien...

"Not like a date. A date." He raised an eyebrow.

She hid her face in the pillow, trying not to squeal out loud. After a deep breath, she lifted her head out of the pillow. "Will everything be alright?"

"I'll protect you. I promise."

"Okay... Then I accept your date request," she gave him a nervous smile. "It's getting late, do you want to spend the night?"

He grinned. "I would love to, Princess."

She hopped down from her bed and said, "I think Papa has some clothes that you could wear as pajamas in the laundry room. Be right back."

He nodded, waiting patiently.

She soon reappeared with a large black shirt, tossing it to him. "Sorry if it smells like flour."

He laughed. "Not a problem!"

"I'd better text Alya, and make sure she's okay..." She flipped open her phone, and was instantly greeted with a barrage of missed texts and calls. "I think she's alright."

He frowned. "She's the girl who's always with you."

"Of course! Me and Alya are bffs. I'd better call her back..."

He frowned, leaning back. "Are you in love with her?"

"W-What?!" She stammered, nearly dropping the phone. "Nononono! We're just best friends! Alya's almost a sister to me!"

He relaxed, and smiled. "Good. Carry on then."

She looked at him with a frown, but then Alya picked up. "Alya! I'm so sorry I ran off like that! Is everyone okay?"

"No, the explosions took out several classes. You'll hear about it on the news," the girl told her, softly.

"Okay, I'll turn it on now," she covered the mouthpiece. "Adrien, can you check the news on my computer?"

He pulled it up. "FIFTY THREE DEAD IN SCHOOL BOMBING," the headline read.

Marinette covered her mouth and uncovered the mouthpiece. "Oh my god. Alya, how's Rose and Nino?"

"Alive. Rose is in the hospital though. She was talking about a-"

"How're you?! I know you were pretty close to the blast," she cut Alya off, nervously fiddling with her pigtails.

"My arm was cut in the blast, but I'll be fine."

"Thank god. I can't believe that happened. I'm so sorry for not calling you earlier, I was... busy."

"I saw you run off with Adrien. I didn't tell the police, don't worry... but... if he caused that explosion, you'd tell me, right?"

"He didn't," she promised, looking over at Adrien. "He actually saved my life."

He smiled at her, worry in his eyes. "What's she saying...?"

"Nothing" She mouthed to him, smiling.

"Are you sure?" Alya asked. "Because I know he's kind of creepy around you sometimes."

"What do you mean, Alya?"

"He's always following you around, watching you in class, and always writing things in that phone of his. I caught a glance once, and everything he wrote was a note on you."

"Really?" she glanced over at him quickly before continuing. "Maybe it was for a good reason?"

"Or he's just a crazy stalker. I'm just saying, be careful girl."

"I will. I have to get some sleep, can we talk tomorrow?" she said, trying to to look over at the blond boy at her computer.

"Sure thing. Sleep good, girl!" the line clicked dead.

"So what was that about?" he arched an eyebrow.

"Oh! She was just making sure I was alright. Nothing to worry about," Marinette laughed, smiling quickly.

"Is that it?" he tilted his head. "What did she say that made you have to defend me?"

"Well, she was just nervous when you ran off with me after the explosion. It's perfectly normal friend behavior!" she stretched her arms, yawning.

"Tired already?" he tilted his head.

"Yeah, I am. I haven't slept well remember?" she said, setting her phone on the desk. "You can stay up if you want, but keep the lights off so Mama and Papa don't see you."

He shrugged. "Can I sleep with you?"

She blinked, hesitating. "O-Okay!" she stammered, sliding under her duvet.

He slid in beside her, cuddling next to her happily.

She enjoyed the warmth, but her smile had fallen off her face as she shut her eyes. Adrien's aggression towards Alya, not to mention Alya's observations... What was Adrien capable of?

He kissed her forehead. "Is something wrong, my love?"

"Nothing. Just thinking" she sighed, noticing how he held her. It was very... possessive.

"Care to share your thoughts?"

"It's nothing, really. Just thinking" she said, rolling over and cuddling into her chest. She'd think about it more tomorrow, when she could talk to Alya in person...

He held her closer, until their heartbeats intermingled. "My Mari..."

Her eyes grew heavy as she breathed in his scent, and she thought, "Adrien..." as she drifted off to sleep.

He fell asleep soon after, never letting her go once.


	3. Chapter 3

Marinette woke up to the sound of her alarm blaring. She smacked it, then sat up with a yawn, rubbing her eyes.

Adrien's arms were still locked around her, and his eyes fluttered open. "Already dawn?"

She mumbled something in the way of an affirmation, still half asleep.

"We have a date today."

"Oh... Oh!" Her eyes flew open. "I'd forgotten! Let me have breakfast with Mama and Papa."

"No," he hugged her closer. "We don't have school after yesterday's attack. So today, it's you and me all day."

She cast a nervous glance at him, her uneasiness from yesterday coming back full force. "O-Okay. I need to use the bathroom and brush my hair..."

He sighed. "If you must, you must..."

"Well, people would look at us funny if they saw you running around with a ratty-haired girl, right?" She laughed, hopping out of bed.

"Your hair is perfect," he smiled sweetly. "You are perfect."

"Yeah, I know," she muttered, grabbing her phone quickly without him noticing and running into the bathroom. She locked the door behind her and dialed Alya. "C'mon pick up..." she whispered.

Alya picked up the line. "Girl, it's six in the morning..."

"Alya, I need to tell you something," she said, sitting down in front of the door. "You might've been right about Adrien."

He knocked at the door suddenly. "Princess, emergency, now! The diary changed."

"In a second!" she called, before turning back to hiss into the phone. "Listen, I don't have time to talk. I'll try to talk to you in person. I have to go."

"Marinette, we need to get going!"

"Okay, I'm coming!" She closed her phone and opened the door, running a brush through her pigtails.

He smiled, kissing her quickly. "Change in plans. We're going to the theme park."

"That's what the diary said?" she looked up at him, smiling like nothing had happened.

"What were you talking to Alya about?" he asked softly, running a hand through her hair.

"Oh! She wanted me to call her when I got up this morning," she said casually, walking over to her closet. "We should swing by your house, so you can get a change of clothes."

"I'm fine," he crossed his arms. "Now, why does the diary say that she's coming to intercept us and thinks I'm threatening you?"

"What? Why would it say that?" she asked, looking at the floor. She knew she was in a dangerous situation. Adrien... there was something about him that unsettled her more and more...

He stroked her cheek. "Don't worry. I won't let her tear us apart. She might be another diary holder."

"Adrien, no!" she snapped, suddenly pushing him away. "No way Alya would hurt me! She's just scared for me!"

He frowned. "The diary has her trying to separate us. You know that's dangerous."

"She's scared, Adrien! She said... She said that you had been stalking me and acting really weird. That's enough to make anyone freak out!"

He froze. Ah. So she had seen. "If I didn't do that, you wouldn't be breathing." He pressed a hand to her chest. "There would be no pulse here."

"I know," she murmured, resting a hand over his. "But if you keep her away, she's going to be even more anxious. All you have to do is let me tell her everything's okay."

He shook his head, and took her hands. "I don't think you should go near her anymore."

"No! Adrien, I care about you, and I know you're just being wary, but Alya's my best friend." She took her hands back and turned away from him.

His eyes went blank. "Let's get going then."

"Adrien, are you okay?" she said, noticing his expression and taking a step back.

He smiled. "Shall we get ready?"

Marinette walked over to her drawers and started rummaging around for something to wear, the whole time aware of Adrien's eyes on her as Adrien pulled out a spare outfit from his bag, changing calmly. She finally decided on a pair of shorts and a pink lacy shirt. She noticed him changing, flushed red, and ran into the bathroom.

He finished changing, and stretched out. "You ready?"

"In a second," she called, changing and giving her hair a real brushing. She opened the door after shoving her phone in her pocket.

He smiled. "Take the diary. You might need it."

"Okay," she grabbed the book and slid it into her satchel.

He took her hand, smiling brightly. "Hey, do you love me?"

She looked at him. She wasn't completely sure of her emotions, but he looked so happy, she responded with, "Yes."

He kissed her hand, and pulled her out the door, sneaking past her parents easily. "As long as you say that, I belong to you. Even if you decide you don't mean it."

She felt guilty for not telling him her feelings, but she shook it away. "Where are we going?"

"The amusement park, I told you," he laughed. "It's gonna be fun... and in public, so we can draw out Ninth, the girl who attacked yesterday, and kill her."

"I thought maybe something more low-key?" she asked, looking off to the side. "I don't want other people getting hurt because of us."

"Mari," he pouted. "C'mon, you don't even have to see it, but I need to kill her. Let me kill her for you."

"Please, Adrien," she begged, squeezing his hand. "I just want one day without worrying that people will die because of me."

He sighed softly. "I won't attack unless she does first, ok?"

She stayed quiet for a bit, then nodded her head. "Okay, you better not."

He kissed her cheek. "I'm just trying to keep us alive. Is that ok?"

"It's fine," she rubbed her arm, then looked over her shoulder and paled. "Oh no..." It was Alya...

Adrien glanced in the direction of her gaze, and pulled Marinette into an alley, pressing her against the wall and kissing her. She tried to call out her friend's name, but was quickly muffled. He didn't pull his lips away until Alya had passed. The diaries changed. "She won't come for us again today."

She gasped for breath and looked after Alya. "Adrien, you can't keep me away from my friends!" she shouted, shoving him back.

He froze, startled. "You're upset with me?"

"Yes, I am!" she yanked his collar down, glaring at him. "You can't keep herding me away from the people I care about out of fear!"

He stepped back, hurt in his eyes. "I don't want you to die. You're being attacked on all sides by people who want to be gods, and I'm terrified one of them could hurt you. So yes, I'm scared when the diaries say you're leaving. When I see you in danger, I try to get you out. Is that so horrible?"

"I know you're just trying to protect me," she said, putting a hand on his cheek. "But I trust Alya with my life. She'd never do anything to hurt me, and I would never hurt her."

"People go crazy when they're chosen for this game," he muttered, and then laughed slightly. "Or Miraculous just chose the most interesting. There's nothing interesting about a death game with no deaths. So they're all going to be fighting."

"I'm not going to kill anyone, Adrien." She took a step back. "I never wanted power, or any of that. I just want to be Marinette. Don't you just want to be Adrien?"

He nodded. "That's all I want. But we're in the game now. And you need to stay alive. I won't accept anything else."

"Then we don't have to play by the rules," she told him, with a hard look.

He hesitated. "I'll kill anyone who tries to kill you. I won't budge on that. But I'll... try not to hurt any more civilians than necessary."

"Thank you," she sighed resting her forehead on his. It was a start, at the very least.

He held her close. "We're still on a date, right?"

"Yeah, we are." She put a smile on her face. "Let's go play some cheesy games and win a bear or something..."

He laughed, and pulled her towards the booths. "I'll win you anything you like, Princess!"

She started to relax a bit, and pointed at a large stuffed black cat at the bottle game. "That's kind of cute..."

He took one of the balls, and the throw shattered the bottles. He passed her the cat. "Here you go, Mari!"

"Wow!" She took the huge stuffed animal. "That was quite a throw!"

"I'm purr-etty strong," he boasted, flexing.

She let out a laugh, the first unforced one in a while.

His eyes widened, watching her in awe. "Wow."

She looked over at him, having a little difficulty with the cat. "Hmm?"

He blushed. "You're amazing."

Her smile fell and she hid behind the cat. Before, if Adrien told her that she'd be over the moon. But now, it just seemed... different than she expected.

He hesitated, sensing her disquiet. "What is it?"

"N-Nothing!" She snapped herself out of it. "Any rides you want to get on?"

He nodded. "Can we please go on the rollercoaster? The huge green one?"

"Okay!" she agreed without hesitation. She had second thoughts when they were actually on the ride...

He gripped her hand tightly, excited. "You're going to love it, I promise!"

"I hope you're right!" she hollered, then screamed as they went down the top. He held her hand, and screamed right along with her, enjoying the ride.

After the fast past ride, she stumbled off, looking very pale and clinging to Adrien for balance. He hugged her close, grinning. "Wasn't that amazing?"

"That was... really fast," she gasped, nearly dropping the cat. "Let's choose a slower ride next?"

He nodded, glancing around. "Wanna try the haunted house?"

"Sure!" she said, feeling a little better. Alya loved to drag her to haunted houses, then later they'd laugh at the cheesiness of it all.

He brought her in, grinning. "This is gonna be epic!"

"If you say so," she glanced around at all the cobwebs and fake body parts

He shrugged. "I mean, it's..."

She didn't respond as they walked through it. It wasn't that bad, but it just didn't spook her. He, on the other hand, ended up clinging to her arm, deeply regretting his earlier bravado. Marinette couldn't help laughing at him. "What happened to being a brave tom-cat?" she teased.

He cringed. "I'm plenty brave. I'm not scared at a-" his denial turned to a sudden scream as a zombie dropped from the ceiling, and his face went bright red. "I-I'm fine."

She couldn't help but burst out laughing at his face as they exited the attraction.

He flushed. "That was... more scary than I thought."

"Really? I thought it was kind of cheesy," she half-taunted, leading the way to an ice cream stand.

He shrugged. "Still."

"You were pretty scared though," she said, looking up at the menu and ordering a strawberry cone.

He laughed softly, paying for her ice cream. "I guess I was a little..."

"You were a little scaredy cat!" she laughed, taking a lick of ice cream.

He kissed her, tasting the ice cream on her lips. "Maybe."

She flushed red and pinched his nose. "Buy your own ice cream, don't steal mine!"

He laughed. "I paid for it, so..."

"But I'm the one who found the place. Consider it a finder's fee." She stuck her tongue out at him.

He shrugged. "Anything that makes you happy."

She licked her treat contently as they walked around the amusement park, but she soon started drifting back into her thoughts.

He took her free hand in his. "Want to go on the ferris wheel?"

"Sure! It'll be better than the roller coaster," she said, finishing her cone.

He took her on board, brushing off the seat for her to sit in. She sat down as the ride started moving. She looked out over Paris, feeling content again as she saw her home not far from the park.

"Marinette?" he looked to her. "Your parents are going to be out of town tonight, aren't they?"

"Yeah, to visit some family," she said slowly, trying to figure out what he was thinking.

"Spend the night at my house, okay?"

"O-Oh!" She was surprised that he had mentioned his house, after being so insistent on staying with her. "Will it be alright?"

"It will. And they won't look for you there."

"Okay," she said, turning her attention back to the view. She could just make out the Agreste mansion from here...

He kissed her cheek. "Do you still think I'm good?"

"Yeah," she replied easily. She knew he was just trying to protect her, but she wished he'd do it in a different way... he was trying to protect her though... right?

"Do you love me?"

"Yes, I do." It wasn't a lie; she did still love Adrien.

He leaned over, and kissed her softly. "I love you too."

She smiled at him and hugged the cat tighter, feeling a little chilly.

He sat back down, across from her. "Don't tell me when you stop, okay?"

"Okay..." she said, dragging her knees up to her chest.

"Tell me what's wrong."

"It's nothing, really. It's just a bit chilly up here" she lied, praying for the ride to end soon.

He pulled off his jacket, wrapping it around her. She nodded her head gratefully and jumped slightly as the ride stopped suddenly. They were caught at the top. "Don't worry," he smiled. "It does that."

"I know, it just... surprised me," she flushed peering over the side and watching people get off the ride.

He took her hands again. "Have you checked your diary?"

"No, not yet." She reached into her satchel and pulled it out, flipping through the pages.

He watched her carefully. "We safe?"

She flicked it opened and breathed a sigh of relief. "Yep, we're safe."

He relaxed. "Thank god... or you, I guess."

She stiffened. "Don't say that. I keep telling you, I don't want to be a god."

"It's that or dying."

"Or either. None of us have to die. I don't want to kill innocent people to prove myself to some stupid god!"

"You don't have to kill anyone."

She turned her back on him and went quiet as the ride started moving again.

They got off the ride after a bit.

She shifted the big cat in her arms, watching the crowd walk past.

"Want to go back to my place?" Adrien asked.

"Sure. It's getting really crowded," she said, feeling a bit pressed.

He walked with her, taking her to the manor. She looked up at the familiar Agreste mansion, still in awe at how big it was as he closed the door behind them. "The power's shut off, I hope you don't mind."

"Why's the power off?" She looked around the foyer.

He shrugged. "Just an outage. Don't worry."

She didn't say anything, but started to feel extremely uneasy. "So? Where is everyone?"

"It's just me here," he smiled.

"Really? What about your father?" she asked.

His smile faltered. "Oh, he's... not here."

"Oh. That's a shame," she sighed, feeling a little disappointed. "He's off working, right? On a new fashion line?"

He shrugged. "Oh, and... don't go to the room behind the portrait door please."

"Oh?" she looked at the portrait of his mother. "There's a room back there?"

"Yeah. But it's off limits, okay Princess?"

"Okay" She said, smiling at the picture of his mother and whispering. "Thank you."

He grinned. "I'll make you something for dinner if you like?"

"Sure!" she laughed, pulling out her phone. "Let me text Mama and Papa to tell them I'm staying at a friends."

He frowned, but nodded. "As you wish."

She sent a text to her parents, then sent one to Alya; "Call me tonight, okay?"

The diary on Adrien's phone changed, and he looked at it. "Why is Alya going to call you in an hour?"

"She's been blowing up my phone with text messages and I don't want to worry her anymore," she gave the excuse quickly, sliding her phone into her satchel.

He shrugged. "Alright. Don't tell her where you are."

"I didn't," she reassured him, walking over. "Where's your bathroom?"

He waved down the hall, the same way as the portrait. "Go right ahead."

"Thanks" She said, starting down the hall. After she used the restroom, she stopped in front of the portrait. She wondered why Adrien didn't want her to see what was behind it, but she didn't want to make him mad, so she left it alone.

Meanwhile, he worked on the food, desperate to impress her. Her first night staying over was important, right? He hummed softly, chopping an apple.

She tapped at her phone, waiting for Alya to call. She fiddled with the couch and stared up at the ceiling. Something felt very off...

He called from the kitchen. "You can come in if you like!"

"N-No, I'm alright" she called back, snuggling up to the stuffed cat. The phone buzzed and she snatched it up and whispered, "Alya, it's so good to talk to you right now."

"Where are you? Your parents said they assumed you were with me. Are you with the stalker?"

"Yes, I'm with Adrien," she whispered, glancing over at the kitchen. "Alya listen to me. Adrien is not hurting me; he's protecting me."

"Does he have a weapon? Marinette, I've been looking into this, and-"

Adrien entered the room, and swiftly ended the call. "How rude," he frowned. "I've been waiting after making a nice meal, and you're gossiping about me on the phone?"

Marinette jumped in surprise. "N-No! Adrien, she just called! And it's very rude to interrupt someone while they're talking!"

He blushed, and ran a hand through his hair. "Sorry... I guess I overreacted."

"I understand you're on edge," she sighed. "I am too. I'll call her again after dinner."

He frowned. "Please don't...?"

"Adrien, please. She's just worried," she said, resting a reassuring hand on him. "Let's eat."

He nodded after a beat. "Right, of course."

She walked with him into the spacious dining room. "I'll help you bring the food out," she offered, laying the cat on the floor next to her chair.

He shook his head. "No need, I'm on it!" He beamed. "Consider it payback for the cookies!"

"Oh, okay," she glanced around, sitting down awkwardly. She fiddled with the fabric if her pants, considering calling Alya back... until he brought the food in, a salad, a chicken, and what seemed to be a pair of apple turnovers.

"Yum! Did you make this by yourself?" she exclaimed, plastering on a smile.

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh, yes? Sorry if it's no good."

"I'll be the judge of that," she took a taste. It wasn't that bad, and after not having breakfast and only eating ice cream, it tasted really good.

He looked to her hopefully. "Do you like it?"

"Mhm," she licked her lips, swallowing to reply. "It's really good! Sit down and eat."

He beamed, sitting across from her and taking a bite of his portion. "I'm so glad you like it! The turnovers were frozen two days ago, so I was a little worried..."

"It's really not that bad," she said, taking a bite of the turnover. "You can tell they've been frozen, but the apples are still good and I like the texture!"

He relaxed. "I'm glad you think so! I added a little blood to keep them from going bad!"

Marinette choked for a second, nearly spitting out her food. "P-Pardon?" she squeaked, taking a drink of water.

He blushed. "You're not a vegetarian, right? I mean... it's just another part of the animal, and it worked okay I think..."

"U-Umm, using blood with apples isn't really the best way to keep them fresh" she stammered, pushing the turnover away from the rest of her food. "I-I thought maybe you washed them off first before freezing them..."

"Of course I did that too," he smiled. "What, I wouldn't feed you something dirty."

She quietly picked at her salad, suddenly losing her appetite. "I-I'm feeling a little ill."

"Oh no!" he looked worried. "Want me to make you some tea?"

She stood up abruptly, covering her mouth with a napkin. "N-No, I need to get to the bathroom!" she jumped up, running for it. Blood? Blood?! Why?

He watched as she ran and sighed softly. "What did I do wrong...?"

She retched into the toilet for a few minutes, then rested her head against the tub as she tried to calm down. The portrait door beckoned. She stumbled out of the bathroom, staring it down. She couldn't take any more secrets...

Behind the portrait were three corpses. Two in a cage, one on the floor with a sword through the chest. All rotting.

She covered her mouth quickly, but she couldn't stop the scream from tearing from her throat. She noticed the familiar clothing of Gabriel Agreste, and started backing away.

He placed his hands on her shoulders as she backed into him. "I wish you never saw that..."

She whipped around and pushed him away from her, tears falling from her face. "What the hell did you do?!"

He sighed softly. "Don't think about it," he told her, closing the door. "It's nothing to worry about. Okay?"

"Stay away from me!" she screamed, tearing off deeper into the mansion. Her heart was pounding out of her chest as she ran into a bedroom and slammed the door behind her, locking it.

He peered through the crack of the door. "Tired already? Very well. Goodnight, Mari."

She didn't respond, but immediately ran into the bathroom and dial Alya. "Pick up, please pick up!" she sobbed.

The line cut out. "There's no cell service upstairs," Adrien's voice called.

"Oh god, oh god!" she sobbed, pulling her knees up to her chest. She had to calm down, she had to clear her head and find a way out...

The lock clicked into place on the bedroom. "Sweet dreams, love."

She stayed in the bathroom, sobbing even more and throwing up when she remember the corpses. She finally managed to calm down enough to come out of the bathroom, looking around for Adrien.

He came out of his room, looking tired, and smiled to see her. "Hey... you okay?"

She jumped in surprise and threw her satchel, the only thing that she had on her, at him. It was about as effective as if she threw that giant stuffed cat.

He caught it, and frowned, passing it back to her. "You should be more careful with the diaries. They're our futures after all. If they break..."

"Then what?!" she shouted, backing away from him. "I want this nightmare to be over! I want to go back to the way things were!"

He stepped back. "Well, I'm sorry. I can see the future, but not change the past. If it helps, there's only 27 days left."

"27 seven days?! 27 days of murder, and death, and having to live with the fact that the boy I loved murdered his own father!" she wrapped her arms around herself, shaking.

He hugged her instantly. "You still love me..."

She struggled to get out of his hug. "No! Get off of me!"

He released her quickly. "I... I'm sorry, when you said that I thought..." he looked down. "Mari... this changes nothing. I'm the same person. I'm still going to protect you."

"If you really cared about me, you'd let me leave!" she said, walking over to the door.

He sighed. "You're free to go, of course. I see no reason to kidnap you." Yet.

She didn't hesitate running out the door and into the streets. She dialed Alya as she ran, and when the line picked up, she sobbed, "Alya! Alya you were right!"

There was no answer.

"Alya?" She said, slowing to a stop near the bridge.

Suddenly, there was a blade to her throat. She froze and dropped her at her feet.

"Hello, first," the man's voice was very dramatic, almost funny if he hadn't had the knife. "I am Twelfth! And I am here to defeat you!"

She shut her eyes, took a deep breath, and said in a low voice, "Let go right now."

"No! For I am here to create a beautiful world, where all birds will roam free!"

"I said... LET GO!" she screamed, kicking her leg back and hitting him square in the privates.

He cried out and released her. "Hey! Get back here!"

She didn't look back, but tore off into the direction of the police station. An idea flared in her mind, and she shouted back at him, "Catch me!"

The man ran after her, cawing like a maniac.

As she ran, she felt in her pocket and pulled out the yo-yo Adrien had given her. She rounded a corner and crouched behind it, twirling the yo-yo. She was done running, but she wasn't going to stoop to their level.

He pulled out the knife, going to stab her, and... suddenly choked on blood, inches away.

She was ready to hit him between the eyes and knock him out, but her eyes flew open and she shouted, "No!"

The blade was pulled back. "So that's two down," Adrien muttered, wiping the blood off on his jeans. "Eight to go."

She ran to the crazy bird man's side, trying to stop the bleeding.

He bit his lip. "Princess... you said I could kill them if they tried to kill you."

"But I had it handled!" she snapped, her hands quickly becoming soaked with blood in her attempt to save the man. "I was going to turn him into police!"

"And then the continuem would have failed." In a flash, they were standing in the circle of holders. "Two dead. Ten left. If a new god is not chosen, the whole world will die."

She stared around at the other people. "How can any of you be okay with this?!" she shouted, stepping towards Tikki. "Isn't there any other way to choose who wins?!"

The god smiled softly. "This is the best way. The god that can survive this game is a god that can make the decisions necessary."

"What god would be okay with this!" she screamed back. "You think this is just a game to you?! These are all real people, with lives, families, futures! You call taking that away from them a game?!"

"These are, in general, people with little to lose. Or people fated to lose it all before the month is out regardless."

"I can't believe you..." she said, shaking with anger. "If that's the case, why would they waste what little time they have left doing this?!"

"They get a chance to save everything. Become gods. Would you prefer to be erased from existence right now?"

Adrien gripped her hand and met her eyes. "If you go, I'm going with you."

"It'd be better than having to take a innocent life," she said, pulling her hand away from Adrien and turning away from him.

He fell to one knee, bowing to her. "Please," he begged softly. "Please. You don't have to do a thing. I'll do it all. Mari, please, please stay alive."

"No, Adrien," she said, refusing to meet his gaze. "If you survive, and become a god, it wouldn't matter if I died. You'll just be able to bring me back, right? Just like you said."

"Not if you've been erased," he shook his head. "It's not death. It's just... like you never existed. Please, Princess."

"I can't. I just can't handle the thought of all the deaths" she said, then lifted her head. "How about a wager, since you seem to like games?"

Tikki nodded. "I'm intrigued."

"If I can survive the next 27 days, and peacefully take care of everyone here, without resorting to killing them," she said, her eyes trailing to the shadowed faces. "You can make me a god. And if I lose- What will you do?"

"You've already lost," Tikki laughed. "You will never control Second if you're in danger. I will not be erasing anyone today. Meeting adjourned." They fell back to the alley, where 12th lay dead on the ground.

She sat there for a second, then sighed and stood up. "We have to get out of here before the cops get here."

Adrien nodded. "I'm sorry. Do you want me to walk you home?"

"No, I just want to be alone" She said, putting the yo-yo in her pocket.

He hesitated. "What if you're attacked again?"

"Then I'll take care of myself," she looked up at him.

"Do you love me?"

She remained quiet, then shook her head. "I'm sorry. I can't now. Before I did, and maybe I will again, but there's too much damage."

He nodded. "You will again." He pulled out his diary. "One the last day of our month, it says so. You will love me, and we will be as one before I die. That is the future that I will fight for. Okay?"

"Okay." She replied, then turned and started towards her home, trying not to cry.

He texted her as soon as she turned around, before she'd gone more than ten steps. "You okay?"

She didn't respond, to that or the four dozen other messages he left. She got home and immediately dialed Alya. She tapped her fingers impatiently on the bottom of the phone, unaware of the eyes watching through the window.

Finally, it was picked up. "Girl. Be honest here. Did Adrien Agreste kill a man tonight? Because a camera I set up caught footage of the two of you."

"He did," Marinette said. "Alya, a lot has been happening. You were right about Adrien. I was so happy at first, but now everything has gone to hell."

"Do you want me to go to the police?" Alya asked. "If you say not to I won't. But honestly, I'm thinking I should."

"You can't," Marinette sighed, rubbing her eyes. "Not yet, anyway. Can you please come over? There's some things I need to say that I can't over the phone."

"I can't. I need to get you out of the videos. As it lies, it looks as if you were helping him." There was a pause. "You weren't. At least, as far as anyone is concerned, including me, you weren't. Understand?"

"I wasn't," she groaned, banging her fist on the table. "Alya, I was trying to save him. Just please come over as soon as you can."

"I'll try..." the phone disconnected as Marinette's closet door clicked shut.

She didn't bother turning around, though she immediately went for her yo-yo. "Adrien, that better not be you."

The door did not move.

She turned around and stomped over, throwing it open.

He cringed, face bright red. "Okay, I know this looks bad, but I was just worried about you. You're like, the prime target right now, c'mon!"

"I told you I wanted to be alone!" she grabbed him by the collar, yanking him out.

He looked into her eyes. "You told me a lot of things."

"I know. You never said some things, either," she said, turning away from him.

"I love you," he told her softly. "I will protect you."

She stayed quiet, then said "We can protect each other. I may not kill anyone, but I'm not going down without fighting." She turned to look at him, eyes blazing. "But you have to promise me two things."

"I will not promise not to kill if it it to protect you. But anything else."

"Fine," she folded her arms. "First, you're not allowed to coddle me and risk your life to keep me out of the way."

He nodded. "I'm still going to keep you safe. But fighting is your choice."

"And secondly, you have to tell me everything about what... happened to your father, after all this is over," she told him, paling slightly at the memory of that corpse.

He seemed to hesitate, but nodded. "After it is just you and me left. Then I will tell you."

"You have to promise," she said, intending on forcing him to keep his word.

He fell to one knee bowing his head and placing a hand over his heart. "I promise."

"Okay," she sighed, grabbing the back of his shirt. "Now get out."

He blinked up at her, not understanding. "You... what?"

"Part of the no coddling promise, is not being here unless it's an absolute emergency, or the diary says I'm in danger."

He looked at her, and shook his head. "But..." he hesitated. "Mari, am I still a good person?" Lie, his eyes begged.

She hesitated, then said, "I'm sure you are."

He kissed her hand gently. "Thank you."

She nodded to him and took her hand away. "You need to get going."

He nodded slowly. "I... I may have an alliance in the early stages," he murmured. "With another holder. A temp thing. Would that suit you?"

"Of course," she said, walking upstairs to her room. "I won't hurt them."

He nodded. "I love you."

She didn't respond, though she paused. "I'll see you around," she said quietly, shutting her bedroom door.

He clenched a fist, and then... released. He smiled, and left. Time to finish the alliance with the chief of police...


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning, there was a knock at the door.

A tall policeman with red hair stood in the doorway. "Please open the door."

Marinette quietly stepped back and grabbed the diary, flipping it open to the newest entry. 'Officer Roger shows up. Adrien is with him. Can I tell him about the bodies with Adrien there? Officer Roger has a diary, and wants to protect us. Good or bad?' She looked back out the peephole, then opened the door. "Yes sir?" she asked, hiding the diary and her yo-yo behind her back.

"Are you Marinette, the first?" he asked, offering a kind smile. "I'm fourth, Officer Roger Raincomprix. I'm here to keep you two kids safe, okay?"

"Just Marinette is fine," she smiled, trying to act charming.

He nodded. "Great! Adrien and I have been talking. It sucks that you two got roped into this game."

"Yeah,it does," she agreed, opening the door. "Would you like to come in?"

He shook his head. "Actually, I've been picking up leads, and I think we may have found another diary holder. The Sacred Eye cult has a seer girl whose prophecies have recently been very accurate. A Lila girl?"

"I see," she stepped out, shutting the door. "The name sounds familiar," she mentioned, glancing around. "You weren't followed, right?"

"We weren't," Adrien piped up, smiling. "Don't worry, Princess, I'll take care of any stalkers that come our way." He winked, grinning.

'You're one to talk,' she would have said, if she weren't slightly terrified of him at the moment. "I'll get changed, then we can follow this lead of yours. Behave yourself," she ordered, giving Adrien a pointed glare.

He blushed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yes my Lady."

She sighed and started up to her bedroom. "I made croissants for breakfast. You're welcome to help yourself," she told them.

He beamed, hugging her. "Your the most wonderful girl to ever exist!"

"Yeah, I know," she muttered, pushing him off her and shutting the door. She started changing, setting the diary face up on her desk to read. 'We headed to see the psychic. She let us in. She has a diary! She seems very nice to me. Adrien is being very rude to her...' She frowned. It could be a ploy to get close... or could the psychic actually be on the no-kill side? She finished changing and walked out. "Okay, I'm ready!"

Adrien smiled, offering a hand. "Officer Roger says we can ride in the cruiser! Isn't that cool?"

"Great. We'll get there faster," she said, not taking his hand. "Keep your eyes sharp, but don't attack unless you have to."

He nodded. "If I have to?"

"And I have to confirm that it's necessary with you," she opened the door to the cruiser and climbed in the back.

He sat beside her. "If you insist, I suppose."

She nodded, sticking her yo-yo in her satchel, not meeting his eyes. "Let's go."

They drove to the culthouse in relative silence. Marinette gazed out the window, watching Paris pass by. She wished she could talk to Alya, but the diary has said she would either get a busy signal or told that the video was still being edited. She gasped slightly as Adrien took her hand in his, playing with her fingers, and kissing her palm. She didn't remove her gaze from the window, but she gave his hand a squeeze to calm him. He'd be a hassle if he was overly affectionate in the culthouse.

He quieted as they walked into the culthouse to see the girl behind the wooden bars. Lila Rossi. The All Seeing Eye Prophet. Marinette was the first one to speak, stepping forward and said with a friendly tone. "Hi, you must be Lila. My name's Marinette."

"I know," Lila smiled sweetly. "You're the beautiful, courageous girl who refuses to kill. The most incredible Marinette Dupain-Cheng. I have seen your soul, and you are pure."

"T-Thank you?" Marinette turned a bit red. She was used to being complemented by Adrien, but getting such high praise from a stranger was still odd. "I mean, it's really nothing."

Lila offered another smile, the type of motherly smile that a teenage girl shouldn't have been able to pull off. "As the eye of god, I hold no intentions of becoming one myself. However..." she pulled out a scroll. "My diary has predicted my death. And I would love to help you, if you would protect me tonight."

"Of course!" Marinette beamed, taking Lila's hand with a big smile. Finally, someone who didn't want to kill to be a god! "We'd be more than happy to, right guys?"

"Of course," Officer Roger smiled.

Adrien, on the other hand, frowned. "I'm a model. I've recited lines. And I recognize when they're being recited."

"Adrien!" Marinette chastised, whipping around to look at him. "Don't listen to him, Lila. He's... Been in this longer than I have."

Lila laughed. "It's fine! His soul is a darker one... but not the worst I've seen!"

"How long do you need us to stay to protect you?" Marinette asked, starting to feel like her former... Marinette-y self, just being with a friend.

"The night should do!" Lila offered a hand through the bars. "Allow me to bless you?"

"Oh, sure," Marinette shrugged, reaching a hand out to her.

Lila grasped her hand, touching her free one to her temple. "Oh, holy spirit, flow into this girl, and bring her fortune most faire!"

She stood there awkwardly, casting a glance back at Adrien and Roger. "Um... Thank you, Lila."

Adrien rolled his eyes as Lila blessed Marinette. "So we're protecting this... person, now."

"Yes, we are" Marinette smiled, dragging him closer to her by the ear. "And you won't hurt her, got it? I'm in no danger currently."

He sighed. "Great. And when she turns out to be a psycho bent on killing you, I get to cut her up?"

"Worse case senario," she consented, pulling out her yo-yo. "But until that becomes evident, she's an ally."

He nodded. "Fine."

"In exchange for your protection," Lila called out. "My followers have captured the girl who attacked you two days ago."

"Really?" she asked, releasing Adrien's ear. This was where she was conflicted; she didn't want to kill the girl, but she hated her for hurting her schoolmates...

"We will release her to your group if I survive the night," Lila smiled.

"Deal," she said almost instantly. She turned to Roger. "You have a gun, so you're the first line of defense. Stick to the front door. Adrien, you can be the second line. Keep anyone from entering Lila's chamber."

Adrien bowed. "As you wish, Princess."

"I'll stay with Lila, if that's alright," she decided, flicking her yo-yo and turning to Lila. "I'm not as good with this as him with the sword, but I could stun them long enough to get you out of here."

Adrien beamed at the compliment as Lila stroked Marinette's face. "You are my angel. The perfect angel in line to be the next god. I will be happy to be your next prophet."

"I really don't want to be god," she said with a shake of her head. "But after all this is over, you can be my new friend."

"I'd like that," Lila fluttered her lashes slightly.

Marinette returned the smile, then looked around for a door into the chamber. "Where's the door?"

"To the side. I'm forbidden to touch it."

"It's okay, I'll come around." She gave Roger a polite nod, a small smile to Adrien, then opened the door and went inside the chamber.

Adrien took her hand just before entering. "Be careful, please."

"I will. Just do your job out here, and we'll be fine," she promised, shutting the door behind her.

He nodded. "I love you."

She leaned against the door and whispered, "I know" before walking over to Lila.

Lila smiled. "Your lover has one of the darkest souls I've come across," she murmured. "I'd leave him soon if I were you. He has death in his blood."

"You have no idea," Marinette sighed, leaning against the wall. "I just... need to figure a lot of things out."

"Might you tell me what is troubling you?" Lila cocked her head. "I am good at listening."

"Well... I think it's best to keep it private for now," Marinette said. "I haven't even told my best friend yet, but only because I'm afraid... I'm afraid Adrien might hurt her."

"I am good at keeping secrets as well," Lila laughed softly. "I do not fear Adrien. His very name means darkness, and with my sight what it is, I've long been accustomed to the dark."

There was a silence. "H-He's killed people, not just people with diaries, and he stalks me," Marinette slowly said, her head drooping. "I used to have a pretty bad crush on him, and at first, I thought him pining over me was a dream come true. But..."

"But the dream was taken too far?" Lila guessed. "He wasn't the boy you'd hoped for? The real Adrien Agreste was not the angel you loved, but the demon that fills your heart with fear, and no love?"

"Yeah, it's turned into a nightmare," she said, resting her hands on her eyes. "I just wish I could just forget all this, and go back to the way things were before"

Lila leaned in closer to Marinette. "Is he so terrible? Do you want him to disappear? I could make him vanish, if you like."

"I..." Marinette trailed off. "I don't want him to go away. I just want the old Adrien back; the one that was the sweetest, most genuine boy in school. The guy I used to love. But I don't think that could ever happen again."

Lila stroked Marinette's cheek gently, as if brushing away a tear. "Did that boy exist, you think?"

"I don't... know anymore," tears starting to well in her eyes.

Lila leaned in, and kissed each tear. "I'll make him disappear."

She wanted to snap out of it, to scream for Adrien, but she had fallen into some sort of trance, stuck kneeling next to Lila as she stood up. "Kill the boy with the green eyes!" the prophetess called out. Suddenly, every face in the temple turned on Adrien, raising weapons as Lila held Marinette to her chest. "Do not watch."

"A-Adrien..." Marinette tried to call to him, but was stuck in the seer's embrace.

Adrien almost had to laugh. "I told you!" he called, as he drew his swords. "Hey, Mari? This counts as a time when I get to save us, right?"

She couldn't respond, but mentally cursed herself for being so trusting to Lila, and also sent a couple swear words at Adrien as well.

He glanced at his diary. "Now that's just rude," he muttered. "But I'll take it as the go-ahead." He began fighting, faster than should have been possible, cutting down the cultists by the dozens.

Marinette felt strength returning to her, and she shoved Lila away from her, stumbling to her feet. The seer sighed, looking sad. "You're on the side of the darkness?"

"No, I'm on the side that is right," Marinette said,whipping her yo-yo around. "Lila, I won't take your life, but please call off your cultists."

Lila shook her head, long hair flowing. "No. You see, your holiness, I am the chosen one. And tonight, I will take out four of my most dangerous competitors at once," she smiled, pulling out a blade.

Marinette took a step back, shouting to Adrien, "Adrien! Where's Roger?!"

"No idea!" he sliced the heads off two more cultists. "Outside I think!"

"We have to bail, now!" she called, whipping the yo-yo in front of her as a protective shield as she felt for the doorknob.

He broke through the cultists, swinging the door open. "Run!"

She turned and ran, dragging Adiren behind her. "Roger!" she shouted as they exited the building. A cultist came at her with a knife, and she turned and hit him right between the eyes, knocking him out cold. Somewhere in the fray, her hand and Adrien's had separated, as Roger pulled her out the doors.

"Roger!" she shouted, struggling in the grown man's grasp. "We can't leave Adrien!"

"We did what?" he sounded horrified as the loudspeakers echoed.

"Get off me!" Adrien's voice was muffled through them.

"Oh your holiness," Lila's giggle was clearer. "You can escape if you like. But while you run off, that boy you hate so much will be taught to serve my followers before being killed. Time to see if you love him or not!"

"Mari, run!"

Marinette froze, her heart racing. She pushed Roger off him and ran into the building, pushing cultists out of her way. "Roger! Call the police station for backup!" she shouted over her shoulder.

Adrien was being held down, struggling against their hold as he was stripped down. "Stop! I'll kill you all! Leave us alone!"

"Adrien!" Marinette shouted, ducking a cultist and kicking him into another. She jumped into the air and threw her yo-yo at a pipe on the wall. It wrapped around the pipe and she ran across the room, the line knocking down the other cultists.

He jumped up on release. "You... saved me?"

"Be incredulous later, we're out of here," she said, grabbing his arm and leading the way.

"We need to kill her," he pointed out. "She's way too dangerous, and she's after us."

"I said I wouldn't, and I'm not!" she said, pulling him down as someone threw a knife. She whipped her yo-yo back at them and knocked them over. "Roger's calling backup."

He frowned. "You also said that if she goes all psycho I get to cut her up, remember? I think trying to kill us and get a ton of cultists to attempt to... assault me counts as that."

"Shut up for five seconds, Murder face," she growled running out of the building. She heard police sirens down the street.

He rolled his eyes. "Fine. I won't kill her," he ran with her. "I'll leave that to the newly-escaped terrorist."

"Roger! Hide us!" she called, pulling Adrien into the back of the patrol car. She grunted as he landed on top of her, and her eyes opened wide.

He blushed bright red as the car started. "By the way," Roger said. "That Lila girl was stabbed in the chest by the same girl who blew up your school. Small world, innit?"

She breathed a sigh out as she pushed Adrien off her. "At least it wasn't one of us. It really sucks that we couldn't have gotten though to her..."

He nodded, wrapping an arm around her, and smiling. On the drive home, he fell asleep in her lap, and by the time they got to her house, there was little to do but let Roger carry them both up to her room, where they slept until daybreak, exhausted from the night they'd had. Neither woke to see the diaries change...


	5. Chapter 5

Marinette woke up to the light shining through her window onto her face. She winced and rolled over, squeezing her eyes shut. When she tried to roll over, she felt resistance... She opened one eye and saw Adrien, limbs entangled with her own. She wanted to jerk away, but she was so exhausted, she just let it go this once.

His eyes fluttered open, and he sighed softly. "We survived the night?"

"Yeah, we did," she said, scooting away from him now that he was awake. She got up and opened the diary to see if anything had changed.

He flipped open his own, and his breath caught. "Fifth is coming..."

"Yeah, I know," she closed the diary. "Give me a minute to change, then we'll move out."

He nodded, just as a knock came at the door. "Marinette, sweetie! We want to introduce you to someone!"

"Just a minute, Mama!" she called down, grabbing a change of clothes and looking at Adrien. "Check the diary," she murmured before running into the bathroom.

He nodded, looking through his phone quickly. "A kid is gonna show up," he told her. "From the cult. Her parents were killed last night."

"Oh god," she groaned, rubbing her eyes. She quickly changed and hopped down the stairs, pretending to look surprised. "Who is it, Mama?"

The little girl giggled, running up and hugging Marinette. "This is Manon. You heard about the cult mass suicide on the news, right? A friend of mine's sister was part of it. We're taking care of my friend's neice for a few days until she can get to Paris. Sound ok?"

"O-Oh! Yeah, sounds good," Marinette said, smiling down at the little girl. "Hello, Manon. I'm Marinette."

Manon offered an innocent smile. "Will you be my big sister?"

"Sure, Manon," she said, returning the smile. But deep down, she knew she shouldn't let her guard down, not even for this little girl...

There was a knock at the front door, which opened to reveal Adrien. "Hey Mme. Cheng, can I talk to Marinette please?"

Marinette rolled her eyes, knowing that he'd jumped out the window again. Luckily he didn't seem to have any blood on him, or her mother would've fainted.

He took her hand in his gently. "So, who's this little angel?" He tilted his head toward Manon.

"This is Mano," she said, rolling with it while her mother was watching. "She'll be staying with us for a bit."

He smiled at the little girl. "Hey Manon. Are you a smart kid?" He raised an eyebrow. "Do you like drawing, perhaps?"

"Manon, this is Adrien," she said, looking down at the little girl who clung to her. "He's... A classmate of mine."

"Is he my big brother?" The girl beamed. "I never had brothers or sisters before!"

"Heh, I suppose you could call him that," Marinette said, taking the girl by the hand. "Would you like to draw? I have a lot of pencils and paper upstairs."

The girl beamed, and ran up the stairs. "She has a diary," Adrien said instantly. "I'm sure of it. What are the odds that some random kid from the cult last night shows up here?"

"She's still just a kid, Adrien," she whispered, as Sabine went down the the bakery. "She may not fully understand the rules of the game. She's the most vulnerable of the players."

"That doesn't mean she won't try to kill us," he ran a hand through his hair. "We'll see what happens. But kid or not, you come first."

"Whatever. Come on," she said, turning and stomping up the stairs. "Here Manon, I'll get the paper for you."

Manon smiled. "Can I make paper stars?" she asked. "My momma taught me how to make 'em with only three snips!"

"Of course," Marinette laughed, grabbing some stationary and a pair of scissors from the top shelf. "How about you teach me how to make paper stars, and I'll show you how to sew?"

The girl nodded, and began making the stars. As Adrien entered, the girl got up, and began running to show him, before tripping... with the scissors in hand.

"Manon!" Marinette exclaimed, running to the little girl's side. "Don't run with scissors! You could hurt yourself! Are you alright?"

She'd fallen into Adrien, who was gripping the blades centimeters from his chest, blood dripping from his fingers. "She's fine. She knows what she's doing." He pulled the scissors out of the girl's hands, placing them on a high shelf.

"Adrien?" She walked over, examining his fingers. She turned to Manon and said, "Why don't we stick to drawing? I'll grab the first aid kit."

His hand was pretty badly cut, and Manon watched, looking disappointed. "Why not paper stars?"

"We can do them a little later," Marinette said, giving her a smile and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "We don't want anyone getting hurt, okay?" She started down the stairs, then looked at Adrien. "Try not to get blood on the floor, Mama will be horrified," she told him, before going to get the kit.

He frowned. "Thanks for the concern," he sighed, following her.

She went into the downstairs bathroom and reached into the medicine cabinet. She pulled out the first aid kid and some bandages, as well as some peroxide. "Put your hands above the sink," she instructed, pouring some of the peroxide on a hand towel.

He did as she said. "So you realize she just tried to kill me, right?" he asked. "That little girl. She did it intentionally."

"It could've been an accident, Adrien," she dabbed the cloth on his fingers. "We don't know if it was intentional or an accident."

He cringed at the sting. "You really think she wasn't trying?"

"She's a small child. Small children trip a lot," she said matter of factly, scrubbing the blood of his hand.

"With sharp scissors. While playing a survival game. Into the player who currently has the most kills."

"Don't remind me of that," she snapped, wrapping a bandage around his hand after drying off his fingers.

He smiled. "If it makes you feel better. But if the murder attempts continue, I'll have to eliminate her."

"I'll deal with it," she said, grabbing the front of his shirt. "You aren't killing a child. How will I explain that to my parents?" She let out a sigh and went back upstairs.

He shrugged, walking beside her. "You wouldn't have to explain it, it could be a tragic accident."

"No means no," she said, opening her bedroom door. "Manon?"

The girl giggled. "Yes big sister?"

She walked over and gently took her hands. "Did you try to hurt Adrien on purpose?"

Manon laughed. "If I did, would I tell you, big sister?"

"Well, yes," she said, smiling "Sisters tell each other everything, right? I promise I won't get mad at you."

She tilted her head. "He killed mommy and daddy, right? That's what my picture diary said."

She shot a look at Adrien, then looked back at Manon. "That was an accident. You see, they were trying to hurt us, and Adrien was trying to protect himself..."

"He cut them up," she pouted. "An' the nice cat and ladybug thingys said if I kill him an' all, I get to be the next god, like the Seeing Eye was friends with! An' then I can make a funner world!"

"Manon..." She hesitated, looking at Adrien for help.

This proved to be a mistake as he got between them. "I killed your parents and I won't hesitate to kill you too. It's my lady's will that keeps you alive now, but if you so much as think of hurting her, she will not save you."

"Adrien!" she shouted, pulling the girl to her chest. "I told you, I can take care of myself! And I don't have to resort to murder, unlike you!"

He crossed his arms. "You heard her. She wants to kill us and become god."

"She's only following what that awful bug and cat told her!" Marinette retorted, putting herself between Adrien and the little girl.

Manon laughed. "Big sister, will you kill big brother for me? Please?"

"No, Manon," she said, turning to face her. "I'm not going to kill anyone. Not you, and not Adrien. I refuse to play by the sadistic game's rules."

She sighed. "Fine. You're both too stupid anyway. You'll be dead soon enough."

"What are you talking about?" she groaned, starting to feel a bit irked by Manon's behavior.

"I'm gonna win the game!" Manon giggled.

"Then I wish you the best of luck" Marinette gave a tight smile, throwing the little girl over her shoulder with surprising strength and calling downstairs. "Mama! Manon broke my sewing dummy!"

"I did not!" The little girl screamed. "Lemme go! Lemme go!"

"Adrien, smash the dummy," she whispered, carrying her downstairs. "Ah, Mom! Manon's hitting me!"

He smashed it to the ground, just as Sabine came up the stairs. "Marinette! Adrien! What on Earth is this?"

"I don't know!" Marinette said, holding out Manon. "I told her to be careful with the scissors, after she accidentally cut Adrien, and she started throwing a tantrum!"

"She just lost both her parents!" Sabine took Manon in her arms. "I am surprised at you!"

"I know, Mama," she blushed, hanging her head. "You know I'm not good with little kids!"

"Try to have some empathy, Marinette," Sabine sighed.

"I'm sorry, Mama," she looked at Manon. "I'm really trying, but... I'm really scared, y'know? After everything that happened at the school?"

She nodded. "If it helps, they've identified the bomber as Chloe Bourgeois, the mayor's daughter who went crazy last year."

"Chloe?" Marinette gasped, covering her mouth. She and Chloe had been rivals at school for years, until she went nuts.

"Yeah, Chloe."

"Oh my god," she said, sitting down. As much as the two of them fought, she never wanted her to turn out like this...

Adrien looked surprised. "Huh. I wonder if a lot of the holders are people we know."

"Shut up!" she said, covering his mouth. "Not in front of my mother!"

Sabine blinked. "What on Earth...?"

"It's nothing, Mama," Marinette promised, pecking her on the cheek. "Can you please take care of Manon for a bit? We need to process this."

Sabine stared at the two of them. "If you two are secretly dating, then you should know better than to sneak around. You have my blessing." She pulled Manon out of the room, shutting the door.

"M-Mama! We're not dating!" Marinette cried, flushing red again, before grabbing the diary.

Adrien raised his eyebrows. "We're not?"

"Shut up," she said, pinching the bridge of her nose. "We have to think; What to do with Manon, then then how to deal with Chloe."

"Well, I think Manon's the first threat to handle," he shrugged. "She's in the house, and wants us dead. We need to find her diary."

"What can we do with the diary?" she said, picking up her own.

"If the diary is destroyed, the future disappears. If we destroy her diary, she'll die."

"What?" she said, standing up. "What did I say?! We are not killing a child!"

"If we don't, she'll kill us!"

"She's a kid! She'll be put into foster care, and she won't be able to get to us!" she countered. "I know deep down she's a sweet kid."

"So what? She's dangerous, and she needs to be eliminated by the end of the month anyway."

"Well I'm not doing it!" she screamed, smacking him across the face.

He cringed back. "I wouldn't ask you to."

She curled into a ball on the floor, hiding her face in her knees. "I never wanted to do this" she sobbed softly, breaking down.

He sat next to her, wrapping his arms around her. "I'll protect you. You don't have to see any of it."

She sat there in silence, then whispered, "I can bring them back, right? Once I'm god? I can bring them all back?"

"You can."

She went quiet again, then said, "Do it. Just don't make me see them. I just want this to be over. I promise I'll make it better for them. I'll give them all they want when it's all over."

He nodded, kissing her forehead. "I'll do anything for you."

"Just, please make it quick. And don't let Mama see," she whispered, the shine fading from her eyes.

He nodded. "I'll look for the diary."

She stayed put, whispering to herself, "I'm so sorry, Manon. I'm so sorry."

He searched through the house, carefully combing it. "Where is that picture diary...?"

Marinette eventually got up and opened her diary to help see what would happen. 'Adrien couldn't find the diary. Manon knows we want to find it. Mail.' "Mail..." she murmured, walking downstairs. "I'm checking the mailbox, keep an eye on Manon."

A man arrived with a package at the door, Manon running to meet him. "Package for Manon Chamack?"

Marinette smiled at the mailman and took the package. "Thank you, that's for us," she said, shutting the door and handing the box to Adrien.

Manon jumped up. "Give it!" she cried out. "Don't open it!"

"I'm sorry, Manon. This is for your own good," Marinette said, opening up the package.

The girl paused, before pulling a gas mask out of her bag, securing it. "I told you not to open it." Adrien gasped as the poison gas poured from the package, grabbing Marinette's arm and dragging her to the bathrooms, locking the door.

She coughed and gagged, the poison burning her eyes and throat. "Mama!" She screamed, trying to open the door.

"Your mommy left," Manon chirped through the door. Adrien hugged Marinette tightly. "I want to play a game," Manon's voice came. "I want to play a game."

"Manon, stop this!" Marinette begged, pressing her forehead to the door. "I can help you! Just let me win, and i can give you everything you lost!"

"I'm not letting you win," Manon shouted. "I wanna win! But if you can come out and find me, I'll give you the antidote!"

"Antidote?" Marinette asked, before throwing up onto the floor.

Adrien stroked her hair. "I'll get it... just wait here. I'll save you." He got up, and left. For what felt like an age, he didn't return. She sunk against the tub, her heart racing as she felt the effects of the gas through her system.

He was collapsed on the stairs, having breathed in the gas. "Mari..." he whispered softly. "Mari..."

She took a deep breath and ran out of the bathroom with a towel on her face. She saw Adrien and ran to his side, putting a towel over his mouth. "Manon!" She screamed, pulling out her yo-yo.

He took her hand. "Kiss me," he whispered.

"Not now!" she whispered, her eyes watering as she tried to spot Manon through the gas.

"Please," his grip strengthened. "It does more than you know."

She hesitated, then removed the towel and planted a kiss on his lips. His eyes opened, as strength rushed through his body, and he grabbed the knife from beside him. There was a flash of red as he threw the knife. Manon fell.

Marinette ran over to the window and threw it open, gasping for air. "The antidote! Get it!"

He took it, before stumbling and collapsing in the doorway. A shadow appeared over them, lifting up the antidote. "Honestly. That stupid cop, making me do this," the girl's voice was familiar, as they were dragged outside, and injected with the antidote. She looked to Marinette. "Adrien is twisted. He broke me, and he's gonna break you too if you aren't careful." With that warning, Chloé Bourgeois disappeared.

She looked up at the shadow, her vision fading. "c-Chloe... I'm sorry" She whispered, then fell into darkness.

They were found hours later, and it was confirmed by Officer Roger and his new protege, a kid called Nathanael, that the house had been broken into by Chloe, who poisened Adrien and Marinette and killed Manon. Marinette woke up and listened to Officer Roger, still dizzy from the gas, despite its effects leaving her system.

"I'm so sorry, sweetie," Sabine sighed. "And the day before you start at your new school too..."

"I know, Mom," she said, rubbing her eyes. "But I'm fine, really. I'm just glad you and Papa weren't hurt."

She nodded. "At least you're going with Adrien. He promised me he'd protect you, so stick around him, okay?"

"Okay" She said, resting her head on her mother's shoulder, thinking, "It's not like I have a choice..."

...

The next day,they walked to the new school together. Or, Adrien refused to leave Marinette on the way to school. She didn't protest; after yesterday, it was easier to stay with him in case of anything. She saw Alya and waved to her.

He sighed gently. "I still don't trust that person."

"I'm not going over this again with you," she said, walking over to her best friend.

He sighed softy, watching closely.

"Alya!" She said, wrapping her arms around her. "I'm so sorry I didn't call yesterday."

"I don't think you're doing the right thing," Alya said instantly. "I don't know what he has on you, or if you just think you're in love, or what, but you and I both know that he killed that little girl yesterday."

"No, it wasn't him this time," she said, walking away with her to a more closed area. "It was actually Chloe."

"Chloe uses guns. And bombs. Things that won't get blood under her nails. A knife in the gut? Definitely more Adrien's style."

"I know. But that's what's in the police report," she said, starting to tear up. "It's all my fault that Manon died."

"Did Adrien Agreste kill a five year old girl and poison the both of you?"

"He did kill her..." she said, glancing back at him. "But it was Manon who poisoned us. I can't tell you why, and it's safer if I don't tell you why."

Alya sighed. "I can't protect you forever."

"I'm trying to protect you," Marinette sighed, giving her a tight hug. "Just... No matter what happens to be, don't tell anyone, okay?"

Alya hugged back. "I dunno. I care about you a lot, but you're asking me to keep your boyfriend's murders quiet. That's a felony."

"I promise, once this is all over, I'll tell you everything," Marinette promised. "And he's not my boyfriend"

"Tell him that," Alya frowned.

"Not right now. Apparently the only thing that's keeping him going now is me." Marinette sighed. "And I really need his help to get through this."

Alya stared, shocked. "Keeping him killing, you mean? And what could he possibly be getting you through?"

"I can't tell you right now. All I can say is, despite what he's doing, he's keeping me alive," she looked up as the bell rang. "We can talk another time."

Adrien walked up to her, wrapping his arms around her. "Mon princesse, the bell just rang. We're in the same class this time, isn't that lovely?"

"Yeah, it's lovely," she said, looking back at Alya as she disappeared into the crowd.

He walked with her to the classroom. "The diary said she wanted you to leave me."

"You didn't need a diary to see that," she sighed, looking around at her classmates.

"Are you going to?" he asked softly. "You know that would be suicidal, right?"

"No, I'm not right now," she said, tilting her head. "It'd be best if we sat apart for class though."

"Why is that?" He kissed her cheek. "You don't want the others to know you're with me?"

"No, I need some space," she said, pushing his face away and looking for a seat. Alya was not in this class, unfortunately, and she didn't see many familiar faces.

"Hey, new girl!" a boy with dark hair smiled. "I'm Theo, you can sit with me and my friends if you like?"

"I'd appreciate that, thank you," she said, walking over and sitting next to him. She pulled out her schedule and map of the school along with her notepad.

He muttered something to the kid next to him, getting a nod. "Hey, a few of us were thinking about going to the crime scene where that chick got munched on the other day. Wanna check it out?"

"No thank you," she said, giving him a polite nod. "I don't have the stomach for that type of stuff, and I really should focus on school for now.'

"It's totally innocent," the boy next to him chimed in. "I'm Jalil, and these are Max and Kim, they're new too-"

"We know her," Kim cut in. "C'mon, it'll be fun! Adrien can come too!"

She shook her head. "Sorry, Kim. There's just been a lot going on, and I'd like to get some stuff done school-wise. Thanks for the offer, though."

He shrugged. "I guess, whatever then. The offer is open."

"I might take it another time," she said, looking at the teacher beginning role-call. When her name was called she reply, "Here," then started doodling in her notebook as the lesson started.

The diary shifted suddenly.

She opened the diary, leaning it away from the boys' view, and pretending to write in it as she looked at the new entry. 'On the way home, Adrien and I were attacked by dogs. He was ripped to pieces protecting me. The dogs have me surrounded. DEAD END.' She dropped her pencil, jumping as it clattered loudly on the floor. She laughed in embarrassment as she picked it back up, then made eye contact with Adrien across the room. He flashed his phone, showing a similar entry. She nodded and returned her attention to class, jumping up when they were dismissed for lunch.

He walked over to her. "So. How do you want to avoid being killed by angry dogs on the way home?"

"Dogs, I can deal with," she whispered back, walking quickly with him. "We can try taking the subway home, and if all else fails, we resort to violence."

He frowned. "Alright. Let's cut through the park, okay?"

"Alright," she said, heading towards the lunchroom. "Also, I'm surprised you didn't protest to my seating choice."

"Well, I mean, I want them dead, but I can't justifiably kill students."

"You'd better not!" she smacked him on the head with her satchel. "Besides, you like Kim and Max, don't you?"

He shrugged. "So long as they don't try to hurt you."

"They're not, trust me," she sighed, sitting down at a table. "You can go get food, I'm not hungry."

He shook his head. "Reading a brutal explanation of how we're going to be eaten later today put me off my appetite."

"Don't remind me," she gagged, pulling out her notebook and doodling some designs.

He leaned on one hand, watching, enraptured. She ignored him, working on a dress based on the stuffed cat she'd gotten from the amusement park, adding a paw-print satchel as an accessory He grinned. "Looks paw-dorable, Princess!"

"Thanks," she smiled, adding a few finishing touches, then looked around the lunchroom for Alya.

"Hey, once we fight the dogs, we should go out again," he grinned. "Can we?"

"No. Have you forgotten what happened the last time we went on a date?" she asked sharply, still scanning the lunchroom.

"We had a nice time at the carnival?" he shrugged.

"I'm not talking about it. No means no," she said, noticing Theo and his gang nearby before sighing in defeat. "She's not here."

"She?"

"Alya. I was hoping to talk with her during lunch, since she's not in our class."

He nodded. "Good. I mean, I get that she's your friend and all, but..."

Marinette rolled her eyes. "Yes, she is my friend. And I actually want to hang out with her than with diary-holders."

He nodded. "Oh, definitely. If those are the options, go right ahead, better than someone trying to kill you."

"Gee, when you put it that way..." she said sarcastically, standing up. "I'm going to talk with Max."

He nodded. "I'll come with you!"

"No, I want to be by myself," she corrected, dumping her schoolbag on him and walking over to the boys. "Hi, Max!"

Adrien clenched his fist, watching carefully. Did she like Max? Was Max better than him? Would she fall in love with Max?

"Hey, do you guys know if Rose is alright," she said, taking a seat next to Kim. "I haven't had a chance to visit her."

"She and Juleka went away for a bit," Kim shrugged. "Something about a secret diary and Chloe targeting them? I dunno man."

Marinette froze for a second, then smiled. "Well, that means she's out of the hospital, so that's good."

"Agreed," Max smiled. "I hope they're wrong about Chloé. Man, can you believe she went off the deep end like that?"

"I can't believe it, either," she said. "I mean, I knew she was a drama queen, but I never thought... she'd actually hurt someone."

They looked down. "Come with us," Kim said suddenly. "To the crime scene. Alya's coming, and... I mean, I just need to talk to what's left of our class. About her. Please Marinette?"

She hesistated, and said, "Alright, but only if Adrien comes."

"I want him to be there too," Kim nodded. "He was closer to her than basically anyone else."

"Of course. He'd come along anyway," she said, waving him to come over.

He was by her side in an instant, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her cheek. "What is it, my love?"

The other boys stared for a moment. "You two got together then?" Kim asked after a moment.

"Yeah, we are, I guess," she endured the affection. "We're going to the crime scene with them, okay?"

He nodded. "Anything that makes you happy, Princess. Hey, maybe this way we can avoid that stray dog we saw earlier."

"Yeah, it looked nasty," she said calmly, becoming more smooth with her lies.

He took hold of one of her hands, and wrapped his other around her shoulders, sitting beside her. "So when do we go?"

"Probably after school," she said, fiddling with her satchel strap. "Then we can head home and get some homework done."

"I think I can look up the answers on my phone," he smiled.

"We're not cheating," she said, giving him a look. "It won't help us remember the material if we do, and we'll fail the test."

"Not if the world ends before then, we die before then, or you become god before then," he whispered in her ear.

"Stop it," she ordered, pushing him away from her. "Stop making me think of that."

Kim and Max looked very awkward. "Can you two... not dirty-talk in front of us?" Max asked politely.

Marinette flushed bright red and slammed her hands on the table. "W-We're not! God no!"

"Hey!" Theo came to the table. "We're heading to the scene, like, right now, our teacher just collapsed. You guys coming or what? Especially you, pretty new girl."

"Is she alright?" she asked, squeezing Adrien's hand before he raged and tried to kill Theo.

"She'll be fine, she's a drama queen. So, wanna come?"

"I suppose so," she sighed, standing up and gathering her stuff.

Adrien took her things quickly. "Please let me?"

"Adrien, I can carry my own stuff. Remember our deal?"

He frowned. "This isn't about coddling you. C'mon, please?" He gave her kitten eyes.

She rolled her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Fine. But I'm carrying my satchel."

He nodded. "Deal."

She took her satchel and walked over to where Theo, Max and Kim were waiting. "Ready?"

"Jalil's meeting us there, so yeah, we're good!" Theo grinned.

"Okay, let's go then," she said, starting to walk with Adrien in tow.

He practically clung to her the whole way. "Princess, I don't like that Theo guy, I don't trust him, I really, really want him dead..."

"He's just a nice guy, Adrien," she ignored his clinging. "Besides, the way you're acting, he must already think we're in a relationship."

"Aren't we?" he murmured. "I never took you as one to do what you've done with me for any guy who asks."

"We're in a different situation," she said, glancing back at Theo. "Besides, you're not the first person I've ever gone out with."

He tensed. "Oh? Who else have you dated?" His tone was conversational, almost pleasant.

"Just a couple boys," she skirted around the question, not falling for his voice. "It never went beyond one date, anyway."

"Can I get names, please?" He smiled, his most perfect model-smile.

"No," she said flatly, pinching his nose. "You're not killing anyone because they dated me."

He pouted. "C'mon, pretty please?"

"No means no," she repeated, looking up as they arrived at the crime scene.

They glanced around, as he wrapped his arms around her. "Huh. Fun."

She shivered. "No. Not fun," she looked over at Theo.

Theo laughed. "C'mon, let's check it out!"

She looked at Adrien, then pulled her diary out of her satchel with her free hand and flipped it open. The talk of the dogs ripping them apart had vanished. She shut the diary and put it back, whispering, "Be alert" before following Theo.

He nodded, staying by her side. "Always am where you're concerned."

She walked around, surprised that there wasn't any police around to guard the scene.

He frowned. "Weird..."

"Hey, guys!" Kim called. "There's a coke machine, totally broken, wanna get free soda?"

"Careful for glass, Kim," she called back, stepping around the remains of a shattered window. "Bring me one, okay?"

He tossed her and Adrien sodas cheerfully. She caught her soda and cracked it open, enjoying the first taste of sugar in a couple of days. Adrien took a sip of his as well, and smiled. "Mm, better than the hospital stuff."

"Yeah," she said absent-mindedly, taking another sip as they made their way over to the group of boys.

"I'm gonna be right back," Theo smiled.

"Okay" She said, turning her attention back to Kim and Max. "Find anything interesting?"

"The crime scene. Chalk outlines and everything! Dude, those animals ripped the bodies to bits!" Kim grinned.

Adrien gave Marinette a long look. "Why do you consider them less psycho than me?" he whispered.

"They haven't actually killed anyone," she whispered back. "That's really gross guys."

"Yeah, c'mon!" they waved her over. Adrien rolled his eyes.

"You guys go ahead, I'll stay right here," she said.

He stayed with her, smiling slightly. "I knew you'd choose me over them."

"I just don't want to go over there, that's all," she shrugged, peering around, looking for a glass-free place to sit. He brushed glass off a bench, scratching his hand slightly, and laid his jacket over it, gesturing for her to sit. "Thanks," she mumbled, pulling out her sketchbook and sitting down. He sat at her feet, watching her sketches. She sketched several designs, before lifting her head. "Where's Theo?"

He shrugged. "Dunno. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"It has" She said slowly, reaching for her satchel and pulling out the diary.

He glanced at his own. "Huh. He's dead."

"What?!" she jumped up, shoving the diary back in her bag and pulling out her yo-yo. "Kim! Max! Where are you?!"

He got up, calm as ever. "Marinette, we need to run before-" he stopped, as they ran into Theo's body, his arm ripped off and lying on the ground. Dog eyes peered from the trees as Kim, Max, and Jalil ran up to the scene.

"Run!" She yelled at them, tearing off in the other direction, hoping to lure the dogs away from them.

He grabbed her arm. "Let the boys distract the dogs while we escape, okay?"

"We're not losing any more of our classmates!" she shouted, smacking a dog with her weapon.

He sighed, and- There was Alya, phone in one hand, running towards them. "Follow me!" she called. "C'mon, there's a place to take refuge!"

"Okay!" she agreed, dragging Adrien towards Alya, whipping her yo-yo to keep the dogs at bay.

Alya brought them to an old rest stop house, with many windows, and locked the doors. "Be careful, guys! The dogs might attack the windows, and we don't know where they'll go!"

"Stay in the center of the room, and if they get in, don't let them trap you in a corner," she said, hugging Alya with one arm.

A dog jumped at one window, and Kim rushed to reinforce it. "Shit! We can't keep this up..."

"Adrien, check your phone!" Marinette yelled, smacking another dog trying to climb inside.

He frowned, but did as told, passing it to her. "Stay in the center and read off the directions. That's the only way they'll be taken down, my diary doesn't say what I do, only you."

"Cover me while I check mine," she said, pulling out the diary and flipping it open.

He did as she said. "Tell us where to reinforce!"

"The window's on the north and east sides! That's where they'll focus their attack!"

He nodded. "Do what she says!" he ordered. As she called out instructions, he and the others reinforced the windows, until finally, the dogs gave up and left.

"That was amazing, Marinette!" Kim gasped. "How the hell did you do it?"

"The diary," Alya frowned. "You kept reading out of that diary."

"Errr, it's nothing," she said, putting her yo-yo and diary back in her satchel.

"A Diary that predicts the future, right?" the voice came from the doorway. "I must say, I didn't expect you to have one, pretty new girl."

She whipped around, gritting her teeth. "Theo."

Jalil walked across the room, holding a blade to Marinette's neck. "I thought we were going for Alya Cesaire's, but you'll do," he grinned.

"Alya?" she said, looking over at her friend. She gritted her teeth and reached behind her, not breaking eye contact.

Alya hesitated. "Alright. So you know about mine, and want it, right? So I have a bargaining chip. You have my friend. I propose a game." Alya pulled her phone out of her pocked. and a coin. "A gamble, if you will. I toss the coin in the air and catch it in one hand. If you guess the right hand, you win. If you don't, I win. Diary against Diary. And if I win, you release Marinette."

"Alya, be careful," she said, looking at Adrien. "Adrien, make sure to get Kim and Max out of here if we lose."

He met her gaze. "I really don't like this, he muttered.

"Deal," Theo nodded.

"Just roll with it," Marinette said.

The coin was tossed. Theo lost. He frowned, and let Marinette go, but held onto her diary.

"Give it back, Theo," she said, glaring at him and giving Adrien a signal.

Adrien tilted his head. "Am I allowed to kill everyone here?"

"Just the ones holding my diary. Alya, we're talking about this, okay?"

Alya smiled. "Of course. Let's just play the game again. For the diary this time. So nobody has to die."

"Alright. You're the lucky one, so I'll give you the honors."

Adrien frowned, eyes widening. "Alya. Which diary holder are you, anyway?"

Marinette looked at him, then back at Alya. Alya didn't, answer, and before a moment had passed, Adrien had her pinned to the ground. "Do you have a diary at all? Or are you just gambling with Mari's life?" Alya turned her phone to Adrien. There was no diary, just a website of bluffing strategies.

"Adrien!" Marinete shouted, pushing him off of her. "Leave her alone!"

He growled. "She's betting with your future."

"She was trying to save me! She's doing more than you are right now, if you've forgotten he still has my diary!" she shouted back.

"I'm trying to figure out how to do things without people you like dying!" he snapped. "I don't want to hurt you more than I have, and you told me to stop killing!"

"Enough of this!" she said, shoving him aside and whipping out her yo-yo.

Theo stepped back, nervously. "Shit... shit, shit, why did I let Dad talk me into this?" he muttered under his breath.

She rushed at him and slid past him, wrapping the yo-yo around his ankles. She braced it against her arm and yanked it back, knocking him off balance. He dropped the diary, and fell to his hands and knees. Jalil ran to attack Marinette, and found himself on the wrong end of Adrien's knife, as Theo screamed. "Don't!" he ran to Jalil in horror. "Oh god, no, please, no..."

"Adrien, no!" She released her yo-yo's hold on Theo and wrapped it around Adrien's wrist. She yanked him back as she scooped her diary off the ground.

He spun to her, eyes wide. "Do you want me to kill them or not? When I hold back I'm wrong, when I attack I'm wrong, just tell me what you want me to do!"

"I want answers!" she shouted, yanking her weapon back. She walked over to Theo and grabbed his shirt and yanked him in her face. "You said your father told you to do this- Tell me why!"

"The diary belongs to my father. He used it to control the dogs. He got a dead end flag, and asked me to help stop it, so he could come back to Mom and me! So he could make a good world!" he pulled away, trying to help Jalil. "He never used a Diary. He wasn't supposed to be part of this. Please, get an ambulance, please!"

She stood there, then clenched her fist. "Alya, call an ambulance. Adrien, give me your shirt."

He stripped off his outershirt quickly, as Alya dialed 911. She folded it, then knelt next to Jalil and pressed it on the wound, applying pressure to stop the bleeding.

Theo snatched the shirt. "I'll do it," he growled, before doing the same thing she had just been doing. A dog came in through the door. Marinette looked around and pulled out her yo-yo, keeping an eye on it as she held onto Jalil's hand. "Stay with us."

"I'm not here to hurt anyone," the voice came from the dog's mask. "I'm here to say that my dead end is coming to pass. There is no reason to fight, Theo. And, First? Second? Do not trust Fourth." There was a gunshot, and the dog whimpered, cowering as the diary went dark, and the hunting dogs went back to the normal dogs they'd been.

Marinette covered her mouth, realizing what Theo's father had done. "No..." she whispered.

Tears ran down Theo's face, though he was resolute in trying to save Jalil. "No more death tonight... please, no more..."

"Kim, Max!" Marinette yelled, tears falling down her face. "Go wave for the ambulance!" She rested her hands on Theo's, meeting his eyes as she helped stop the bleeding.

Adrien watched, and suddenly his knife was at Theo's neck.

Marinette was up in a flash, the yo-yo around his neck. "Don't. You. Dare," she said in a deadly voice.

"He tried to kill you tonight. And now you're helping him. If you like this boy, you could love him," Adrien's tone was cool and calculated. "You said we're not together. So I need to get rid of competition."

"He's lost his father, Adrien. But obviously you don't care about that," she retorted, not removing her weapon from his neck.

"Fathers are pointless anyway. He's better off now. I was."

She removed her weapon and grabbed his wrist, pointing the blade at her chest. "And if it was me?"

His eyes widened. "Never," he whispered. "Never, I'd cut off my hand, cut out my heart before I'd ever hurt you."

"Then don't hurt him," she whispered, touching his cheek. "Think of him as me. Please."

He hesitated. "Am I still good?" he asked softly. "Do you still love me?"

"You are good," she told him, rubbing his cheek. "And I do love you."

He dropped the knife, and hugged her tightly, tears pricking his eyes. "Then nothing else matters to me."

She breathed out a sigh of relief and rubbed his back, leading him out of the way as the paramedics ran to Jalil.

He kissed her softly. "Will you please be my girlfriend?" he asked quietly. "Or pretend to be?"

She wiped the tears from her eyes and looked over at Alya. She shut her eyes and said, "I will."

He kissed her again, holding her close. "I love you, I love you so much, I love you..."

She didn't reply, but embraced him back. If this was the only way to keep innocent people safe...

He closed his eyes. "Let's go home, okay?"

She nodded, exhausted to the point where she leaned on him for balance. "Home..." she mumbled.

He carried her to a taxi. "Take us to the Dupain-Cheng Bakery please."

The taxi driver nodded and drove while Marinette dozed off in the backseat. He let her use him as a pillow, stroking her hair and humming softly. After a short drive, the man pulled up in front of the bakery. "Pay up, kiddo."

He paid, and brought her inside her house, tucking her into bed. "I love you, my Princess," he whispered. Little did they know what would come the next day...


	6. Chapter 6

Marinette woke up to the rising sun. He'd left her a letter. "My diary said you were safe. I decided you might not want me to spend the night, after last night happened." She read the letter, then set it back on her table and walked onto the balcony. She stared at the sunset, trying to lose the thoughts that darkened her mind.

A text chimed in her phone.

She jumped slightly, spooked from her dreamlike state, and picked up her phone. It was a text from Alya. "Go to the bus station by your house."

She sent a quick "Why?" before going back inside and grabbing her satchel to go anyway.

"Trust me."

She went outside, sneaking past her parents, and went to the bus stop, looking for Alya.

Adrien waved to her. "Hey! What's up?"

She narrowed her eyes. "I'm meeting Alya," she said, after figuring he just monitored her though his phone until she moved

He raised his phone to her, showing a similar text, but with "Marinette will be there" added. "She also sent this," he pulled out an envelope."

She took the envelope and took out it's contents. There were two tickets for a day-long stay... at a bridal fair. She nearly choked on her spit as she dropped the tickets. "What is this?!"

"A mock wedding," he laughed. "I know, I was surprised too."

She dialed Alya as fast as she could and whispered into the phone, "Alya, why?!"

"Trust me girl," the voice was serious. "Just go with it. You're keeping his mental state in check, and keeping him out of the way."

She took a deep breath, took a glance back at Adrien, then whispered, "Okay. Please stay safe while we're gone, okay?"

"That's why you're keeping him occupied. So I stay safe." The line deadened.

"I have to admit," he smiled, "Alya can be okay sometimes."

She took a deep breath before turning back to him. "I wish she had run this by me beforehand."

He shrugged. "We'll have fun, I promise!"

"I hope so..." she mumbled, as the bus pulled up. She sent a text to her parents, telling them she'd gone with Alya to the amusement park as they boarded. Adrien sat beside her, wrapping an arm around her. She looked out the window, then back at him. "So what do you do at a bridal fair?"

"Um," he frowned. "Usually they have a banquet, and you get to try on clothing and stage a wedding."

"At least I'll be able to see some dresses," she said, drifting into her creative bubble. "Wedding dresses have a lot of details that I'd love to experiment with."

"Sounds awesome!" he beamed.

'Hopefully this won't make me regret trusting Alya,' she thought as they arrived at the fair a little while later.

He took her hand, laughing. "Wonders await, my Lady!"

She rolled her eyes, though she cracked a small smile as he dragged her towards the fair.

"What would the Purr-incess like you do first?"

"Hmm, I suppose I'd like to see the dresses first," she said decisively, looking around. "I might talk to the designers for some pointers."

He nodded. "Let's find them!"

"Okay. The sign says they're this way," she said, leading the way.

He nodded excitedly. "You think they'll let you make one?"

"It'd take too long. They might let me make a veil, or maybe give me some fabric to make one later," she grinned, arriving at the dress area, where a lot of girls were trying on dresses.

He walked with her, grinning. "Which ones do you like?"

"This one looks nice," she brushed her hand against a slender silk one with blue ribbon. "Amazing stitching done with the hem."

He nodded. "Do you want to try it on?"

"It's too large for me-" she started, then a very excited lady walked over to them and said, "We can find something for you, darling~!" She grabbed Marinnette by the hand and dragged her to the changing rooms.

Adrien laughed slightly, before going to try on his own clothing for the mock-wedding. Marinette protested at first, but eventually rolled with it. The woman poked her head out from the curtain and squealed, "Ready to see the blushing bride?"

He walked into the room in a white and gold suit, and his eyes went wide. "Wow..."

Marinnette stood there in a similar dress to the dress she she had been admiring, though this one clung to her figure much better. Her hair had been redone into a braid on the side of her head, and she held a bouquet of blue and white flowers. He gasped, walking toward her, and fell to one knee, holding a ring. "Please marry me," he whispered, taking her right hand. Not the left- this wasn't real yet. But still.

"I-I do?" she stammered, casting a glance back at the woman and her assistant, who were cooing at how cute they looked.

He slid the ring onto her finger, and got up, kissing her softly. "You are so, so perfect.."

She smiled up at him, trying to pretend she was excited as they went into the chapel, and he smiled to her, as he said the words. She repeated the words to him, finally noticing how handsome he looked in his suit. She was happy that this was just pretend, though. He sighed softly, and the kiss was gentler than he'd ever been. Almost worshipping. She returned the kiss, feeling slightly at peace with the scent of flowers surrounding them.

After the wedding, it was dark out as they got out of the close, and got on a bus. He passed her a "wedding picture" of their kiss.

"Wow, did I really look like that?" she asked, looking at the picture. Next to her was a box of fabric she'd asked for.

He nodded. "I know we're not ready for it for real yet. But once this is all over... someday, when I can be good, for real, I want to marry you again."

She turned a shade of red and looked out the window. "When this is over..."

He nodded. "Yeah. If you want to, I mean. When we're happy..." he closed his eyes, falling asleep on her shoulder, holding her hand.

She looked over at him and sighed, turning her eyes to the darkening sky. She gave his hand a comforting squeeze as they rode in silence.

When the bus stopped by Adrien's house, Alya was waiting.

She tapped Adrien's shoulder to wake him up, then picked up her box and led him off the bus. He stumbled off after her, as they walked to his house...

"Good, you're back," Alya grinned. "How interesting."

"Hush," she chastised, giving her friend a one-armed hug. "Why didn't you tell me we were going to a bridal fair? A heads-up would've been appreciated."

"I needed you two out of the way," she shrugged. "Marinette, there's something I found in this house that you need to see."

"You broke into his house?" Marinette whispered, then started walking with her, making sure Adrien was out of earshot. "Was it behind the portrait?"

She nodded, walking toward the portrait door, and throwing it open, to reveal... a hole. Seemingly bottomless, dug into the ground. Marinette gasped, dropping her box. "This... isn't what was here last time," she said.

Adrien stood behind them. "Is something the matter?"

She jumped and shut the portrait door, hugging Alya. "Nope! Alya was just telling me about her blog!"

He nodded. "Okay! Sorry, I'm just a little nervous. I mean, it's the first time you've been in my house, I want it to be purr-fect!"

"Uh huh!" she smiled, making sure she was between Alya and Adrien in case he tried to attack her. "I'm feeling a little hungry, can you make us something?"

He nodded cheerfully. "What would you like?"

"Something sweet," she said, beaming from ear to ear.

He kissed her cheek. "As you wish!"

She returned the kiss and waved him away, her smile fading as soon as he was out of sight.

"You said you'd been here before. But he thinks it's your first time," Alya frowned. "This confirms my theory."

"What theory?" Marinette asked, grabbing the sides of her head. "The last time I was here, there were... bodies back there."

"He overwrote his memory. I think he does that a lot. He seemed to flip back, yesterday, between two Adriens. I think you're the only one who can bring out the saner one," Alya theorized.

"Two... Adriens?" Marinette stared at her best friend. "So he has split personalities?"

"Not quite. More like... he erases part of his personality temporarily."

"So what do I do?" she asked, glancing back at the kitchen, where they could hear him moving around.

"Stay with him for now. Keep him calm as best you can."

"What about you? If you keep running around, he'll think you're a threat!"

Alya nodded. "You point him at a bigger one."

She was about to argue, but heard him getting closer and said, "Okay!"

He smiled brightly, carrying a tray of cookies. "Don't ask about the secret ingredient," he winked.

She gagged in the back of her throat, but took a cookie anyway. "Thanks"

He kissed her cheek. "You are so beautiful..."

She smiled as she took a bite out of the cookie, trying not to throw up. She signaled Alya not to take a cookie. "I'm out, see you," Alya waved, leaving.

"Bye! See you at school" Marinette waved back, secretly slipping the cookie into her pocket.

Adrien hugged her suddenly. "Today was the best. Thank you, Marinette."

She smiled and returned the hug. "It's alright, I had fun too."

He relaxed. "Cinnamon. That's what's in the cookies. Nothing bad. So you don't have to hide it in your pocket."

"I was saving it for later," she said sheepishly, pulling it out.

He laughed slightly. "I know you don't trust me. But I'm on your side. I'll earn your trust back, I promise."

"I know," she said, pulling out her phone. "I'd better get home, Mama's worried."

He nodded. "Want me to walk you?"

"Sure," she knew he'd just follow her from a distance if she said no.

He nodded, and took her hand. "Hey, we'll be fine, okay?"

"I know," she promised, starting to walk. It was pretty dark out by now... He walked her home, kissing her hand at the door. She gave him a quick hug and went inside, deciding to do her next day, she got a message from Roger.

She woke up, having had fallen asleep on her homework, and checked her phone.

'Can you and Adrien come down to the police station to talk about the killing of Manon Chamack?'

"Of course, we're on our way" She replied, getting dressed and cleaned up, grabbing a bagel, and heading outside.

They met at the station, and Adrien was frowning, looking worried. "He knows it was me, doesn't he?"

"Probably," she agreed, yawning. "Let's just get this over with. I spent all night doing my homework."

He nodded, taking her hand. "We can't forget he's a diary holder. He might try to hurt us."

"We're going to be in the middle of a crowded police station. He'd be handcuffed in a second if he raised a hand against us."

He nodded. "Right. Okay. Right."

She squeezed his hand and led the way into the station.

"I love you," he whispered.

"Love you too," she promised, turning to face Officer Roger.

"Hey," he smiled. "It'll just be a few quick questions in my office, could you come with me, Marinette?"

"Can Adrien come?" she asked, glancing over at him.

He looked apologetic. "I'm sorry, procedure. Questioning has to be separate."

"Alright," she agreed, giving Adrien a kiss on the cheek. "I'll be fine."

He hesitated, glancing around the room for a weapon, but nodded. Officer Roger led her into his office, and locked the door. Marinette sat down in front of his desk, her hand on her satchel. He smiled. "Ever hear of a game called 'Russian Roulette', Marinette?"

"Yes, I've heard of it before," she said calmly, turning to look at him.

He pulled out a gun, loading one bullet in, and spun the chamber. "Fancy a round?"

"No, thank you," she declined, reaching slowly into her bag. "I thought you were going to ask us questions about Manon."

"Marinette," he aimed the gun at her. "I wasn't asking."

She gasped and shakily took the gun from him, pressing it to her head.

"Now. Take the shot."

She gritted her teeth, shut her eyes- and pulled the trigger.

It was a blank. Roger took the gun, and fired another blank to his own head. "Let's see how many shots before your boyfriend starts killing people to get to you, and becomes a known murderer?"

"Shut. Up," she growled, pointing the gun at her head again. Tears were starting to pour down her face, but she didn't break eye contact.

The blank fired, and he shot another blank. There was only one chamber left as he passed the gun to her. "So, will you die tonight?" he smiled cooly... Just as Adrien slammed the door open, firing a gun of his own at the officer's head.

"Marinette, come on, we need to run!" Marinette threw the gun on the ground and got up, running after Adrien. He took her hand, and they raced up the stairs, pursued by the police. One grabbed Adrien's arm, and his eyes went wide. "Marinette, go! Hurry!" He threw his gun to her. She grabbed the gun and ran, shouldering her way past a few more officers as she bolted for the door.

He tried to fight off the officer, breaking away just in time, and ran towards her... onto the roof. The officers stood in the door, and the ledge was quite a drop. She backed away from them, until she was standing right on the edge. She looked behind her at the ground below, where a crowd had gathered.

He took her hand, looking down at the truck roof below. "Do we escape?" She looked back at the police and nodded. He took her hand, and kissed her gently. "Three... two... one."

She closed her eyes and fell with him, her heart stopping for a second.

He twisted in midair, breaking her fall with his body, and pulled them both up, racing into the dark, away from the police.

She ran along with him, still holding onto the gun. "Where do we go?!"

He checked the diary. "There's an empty shipment truck up ahead that will be safe for the night."

She nodded and followed him into the truck. She climbed into the back, then started to retch.

He wrapped his arms around her, eyes closed. "I'm sorry I took so long..."

She took deep breaths as she tried to calm down. "I t-thought I was going to kill myself."

"I would never let that happen ag-" he cut himself off. "I will never let that happen."

She covered her mouth to prevent from vomiting on him. "I should've checked the diary."

He stroked her hair. "Want me to get you a bucket?" She could only nod, hand still over her mouth. He got the bucket from a shelf, and held her hair back. "Let it out." She threw up all of what little she had in her stomach, grabbing the sides of the bucket. He rubbed her back, and hugged her once she was done. "I'm sorry. I didn't get a clean shot. Roger's still alive."

She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, taking a shuddering breath. "Then we have a very dangerous enemy, with control of the Paris police force."

"We do. And he has reason to arrest us now. We're in some danger."

"What do we do?" She pulled her knees up to her chest. "We can't go to our friends, and they'll search our homes."

"We can't go home anymore," he told her softly. "Not until Roger is dead, and our names are cleared. I'm so sorry..."

She started sobbing again, covering her eyes with her hands. "I want this to stop! I just want it to end!"

He held her close to him, fighting tears of his own. "Me too, Princess..."

"Protect me," she cried, lifting her head and grabbing his shirt. "I don't care what you have to do anymore, just please protect me and the people I care about!"

He nodded, holding her closer. "With everything I have. I'll make sure you win this game, I promise. I will never let you die."

She sobbed into his shirt and continued to until she had run out of energy. He held her in his arms."Sleep. I'll figure something out." Her eyes shut at his words, and she drifted off into a nightmarish dream. He held her in his arms all night, keeping watch. He would protect her. No matter what happened, he would keep this girl safe.

...

Marinette woke up, feeling cold and sick. "W-Where am I?" she whispered.

He stroked her hair. "We're in the truck still. Hiding from the police."

Everything that had happened yesterday hit her like a ton of bricks. She covered her mouth and starting to panic.

He rested his hands on her shoulders. "I'm protecting you. You asked me to keep you safe, and I promised. I'll keep that promise."

"What are we going to do?" she whispered, covering her head with her hands. "We never should've trusted him."

"I'll kill him," he said simply.

For once, she didn't chew him out or try to change his mind. She just sat there, trying to slow her pounding heart.

"Are you hungry?" he asked softly. "Thirsty?"

"Water," she whispered. She didn't think she'd be able to keep food down.

He nodded. "I'll try and get some," he got up. "We're next to a hospital. I think we can sneak in."

"We have to be careful. There'll be cameras," she said, opening her diary to check.

He nodded. The diary seemed to claim that the cameras were disabled. How wasn't added.

She stumbled to her feet. "We have to be careful."

He nodded. "Always am. I've kept us living so far, right?"

She nodded and climbed out the back of the truck. "Don't attack anyone unless necessary, and no bystanders."

"As you wish, Princess." He smiled, as they slipped in the back door of the hospital. Marinette stuck close to Adrien, not trusting herself to not fall over. He kissed her cheek. "Feeling better than last night?"

"Slightly," she said, looking around for a restroom or breakroom.

"What do you need?"

"Just some water. You should get some food for yourself, too."

He nodded, but just as he began to walk away, there was an explosion. The floor between them fell away, as Chloe stood behind Marinette, laughing. Marinette whipped around, pulling her yo-yo out with surprising speed. Chloe stepped back, drawing a blade just as fast. "Hey, watch it!"

"Chloe, get out of here," Marinette growled, wobbling on her feet. "Adrien will kill you."

"Oh, as if you care," she rolled her eyes. "Anyway, he won't do that if I kill you first, so whatever."

"Chloe, this is your last chance," Marinette warned, whipping her weapon around. "I don't want to hurt you... But I will if I have to."

Chloe stumbled back, dropping another bomb accidentally... blowing up the floor behind her, trapping her and Marinette on the ledge. Marinette crouched down, staying low to the ground while she scanned for Adrien. He was on the other side, looking around for a way to get across. "Hang on. Chloe, if you hurt her I'll make you suffer a fate worse than death. I'll grab a ladder and let you both across."

"Hurry! This isn't stable!" Marinette called back to him, keeping the whirling yo-yo between her and the blonde bomber.

Chloe raised her hands. "I came because of Roger! He allied with me a few days ago, the day Adrien slashed up that cult?"

"He was our ally for a while- Until he tried to make me shoot myself," she growled.

"Yeah, I don't trust him a ton either. I'm switching sides. I want to ally with you guys, and let's face facts, you're out of your league with Roger."

Adrien came back, pushing the ladder over the gorge.

"Why should we trust you?" Marinette demanded, backing slowly over to the ladder.

"Because if you don't, I'll tell Roger where you are."

She bit her lip, then turned to Adrien. "I'll let you choose" she said, running over the ladder.

Chloe followed, as Adrien watched her. "She isn't lying. I can tell when she's lying."

"Then I'll listen to his judgement," Marinette decided, looking down the hallway.

"Great," Chloe smiled. "Then I have something to show you. The reason I allied with him in the first place."

"Fine, let's make it quick," Marinette muttered hearing people shouting from the end of the hall.

Chloe led them to a hospital room, where a girl with red hair lay, hooked up to machines. "She's dying," Chloe explained. "Roger wants to win the game and cure her. He just found out."

Marinette's eyes softened as she looked at the girl.

"He will come in if we threaten her," Chloe remarked.

"And then we can kill him," Adrien finished.

She shut her eyes and rubbed her temples. Great. Two psycho blondes. "Fine. But when this is over, we're going to need a place to hide."

"When this is over, I'll take the blame for the hospital attack and leave evidence that Roger conspired with a terrorist to try and kill both of you. Adrien didn't kill anyone, and since it was defensive shooting, you'll be fine."

"Okay, that sounds good," she sighed, holding out her hand. "Let's get to work, partner."

Chloe shook her hand, and put in a phone call. "I have Sabrina at gunpoint. Don't be stupid. Oh, and Adrien Agreste is in the room, so that might be a bigger threat than the gun."

Marinette sat down in the chair next to the bed and opened the diary to see that outcome. 'The building is surrounded. Adrien has a bomb. Chloe is causing a distraction. This better work...' She shut the diary and looked out the window, seeing the flashing lights of emergency vehicles.

Chloe passed Adrien a bomb. "Just in case," she grinned. "C'mon, I have a contact in the police force... sort of. Whatever, let's get going!" She and Adrien left the room, ready to take on Roger.

Marinette stayed in the room, watching the girl sleep and checking the diary again... A policeman burst into the room. "Dupain-Cheng," he growled.

She jumped up and placed a hand on the girl's throat. "Stay back," she shouted, her yo-yo out in a second.

The officer stared, and suddenly fell forward. Adrien was holding a gun behind him. "C'mon, Princess, we need to go!"

She ran out after him, jumping over the officer's body on her way out.

As they ran, suddenly, Officer Roger stood before them. Adrien threw the bomb, and for an instant, everything went dark. When things came back to light again, the area was in ruins, and standing higher, over a pile of rubble, Roger held Adrien's limb body, a knife to the throat.

"Adrien!" Marinette screamed. She ran toward him, her body seemingly moving on its own accord.

Roger pressed the knife closer to Adrien's neck. "Pick up the gun and finish our game." Adrien's eyes flickered.

"Princess..." he murmured. "Shoot him. Please." Roger pulled Adrien's body over his own. "If you do, you'll hit your little boyfriend."

She picked up the gun and pointed it at Roger, her heart going a million miles per minute. She pulled out her diary with the other hand. 'I pull the trigger. I shoot Adrien.' She took a deep breath and stuck it back in her bag. She silently prayed for Chloe to show up as she continued to point the gun at Roger.

"Shoot!" he told her. "I know what it says. Marinette, please, you need to get out alive!" The wedding picture fell from his pocket, landing at her feet.

She stared down at the picture. "No," she murmured. "No! I won't let it end like this, I refuse!" She set her stance. "I won't lose him because of you! Adrien, this is not over! I- I love you!" she proclaimed...

...Then fired straight at the pair. The future shifted. The bullet hit Roger, and Adrien fell to the ground, eyes wide. "How?" he whispered.

She stared at the gun with shock and dropped it. "I-I don't know!"

He ran to her, hugging her. Roger got up, clutching his shoulder, just as Chloe came in... with Nathanael. "Sir," the boy said. "You're under arrest for falsifying evidence, and attempted murder."

Marinette tensed up as the redhead boy got close, but once she realized he wasn't there for them, she relaxed and gave Adrien a hug. He hugged her back. "We won. We're safe," he whispered.

It's over," Roger murmured. "I... You two. I apologize for what I've done. Win the game. Save my daughter." He broke his diary in half, and in a twist of reality, disappeared.

"I promise" Marinette whispered.

"... What the fuck was that?!" Nathanael demanded.

Marinette looked over at Nathanael. "It's, err, hard to explain?"

He shook his head. "You know what? I'll get the story from her." He nodded to Chloe. "You two just... go home. You're free."

She nodded and let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you."

Adrien walked her home, smiling softly in the sunset. "Hey."

She was leaning on him, holding his arm for balance. "Hmm?"

"We're doing it. We're getting through the game."

"I know," she said, though she didn't meet his gaze.

He sighed. "Do you want me to leave you alone, or spend the night?"

"To be honest, I don't want to be alone tonight," she admitted, rubbing her arms.

He nodded. "Alright. I'll stay with you."

"Let's try to sneak past my parents," she said as they arrived at the bakery. "There's too much to explain."

He nodded. "Why don't you take a shower and calm down? I'll sneak in the window."

"Okay," she said, sneaking through the back door. It was late and the lights were off, so her parents must've gone to bed. She slipped upstairs into her bathroom, took off her gritty clothes, and hopped in the shower.

He slid in the window, noticing her phone receive a text from Alya. "Marinette, get away from Adrien. Now! New information, you need to run!" He opened it, and deleted it, before clearing her trash. He would not let Alya take her from him.

Marinette sighed happily as the dust and scent of explosives and her vomit was replaced with the scent of strawberries. He knocked at the door. "Hey... ,mind if I come in too? I promise not to look."

She poked her head out from behind the shower curtain, before saying, "O-Okay, but no looking!"

He stepped in, eyes closed, and began showering behind her. "That goes for you, too," he murmured.

She flushed bright red and turned to face the shower head, not turning around as she washed her hair.

He smiled, eyes still closed as he finished cleaning, and stepped out. "Thank you," he whispered to her. "Marinette, you mean the world to me, and I will not let anything hurt you. Do you believe that now?"

"Y-Yes," she stammered, grabbing a towel and drying herself off in the tub before wrapping it around herself and saying, "You can open your eyes."

He opened his eyes, and smiled brightly. "You're so pretty..."

She gave him a nervous smile as she started running a comb through her hair.

He blushed. "I can leave..."

"It's okay. You should probably brush yours too," she said, handing him a brush.

He nodded, brushing out his hair, and then messing it up slightly. "I want you to come to see the stars with me tomorrow. I can get train tickets, and we can go to this hill where everything is really clear. Will you?"

"We should check the diary before we go, first," she said, fastening her hair into its usual twin pigtails. "But, stargazing does sound fun."

He smiled, and kissed her. "I already checked. It's safe."

"Good. Can you get out now?" she blushed, pointing to her clothes.

He went bright red. "Yes Mari!" he left quickly.

She quickly changed into the only pair of clean pjs she had; a pink frilly nightgown Alya had gotten her for her birthday. She brushed her teeth and came out. He was dressed in an old t-shirt and pj pants. He smiled when he saw her. "Marinette. Do you stand by what you said? Do you still want me to do what I can to protect you?"

She sat down on her bed and pulled the duvet over herself. "Yes. I thought that I could mercy my way out of this..." she looked down. "But I now the only way to help them is to win the game."

He smiled. "Then I'll protect you and kill them all." She'd given him permission, even if she didn't know all the details. She wanted his protection. He'd almost lost her... he wouldn't again. She rubbed her eyes and checked her phone for the time. 11:11, it read. "We should get some sleep," Adrien murmured. "Oh, and you got a spam message, but I deleted it before you could get a virus."

"Oh, alright," she smiled, yawning as she rested her head on her pillow.

He lay beside her, wrapping his arms around her. "I love you."

"Love you too," she mumbled as she fell asleep in his embrace.


	7. Chapter 7

The next day, he got them train tickets, way out into the countryside.

She looked at the location at the tickets. "So far out. Well, we don't need to leave until later, right?"

"Not for another hour or so," he shrugged.

"Okay, so we can have breakfast and-" She paused as her phone buzzed.

He glanced at it. "You should just delete it, it's from the spam number."

"I'll check it later," she said, laying it on her desk. "Should we take a picnic basket?"

He nodded. "Want me to make it?"

"Nah, I can just throw a few of Papa's goods into a basket. Do you like croissants?"

He nodded, excitedly. "Love 'em!"

"I'll bring some of those, and a few strawberry tarts. Or macaroons," she grinned, walking down the stairs.

He walked with her, smiling brightly. "Hey, which ones are your favorites?"

"Macaroons for sure. Papa makes the best," she sighed, boxing up a dozen of them. He slipped a few more boxes into his bag behind her back. She'd want them later. She packed croissants and a couple water bottles. "That should be good enough."

"Sounds great," he smiled. "We should get going, don't want to miss our train."

"Okay," she picked up the basket. "I have to grab my satchel, wait for me outside."

"I'll get it," he ran up the stairs, and came back down holding it.

"Did you grab my phone?" she asked, making sure she left a note for her parents.

He nodded. "Yeah, and I checked the spam too. You don't know any middle eastern princes, right?"

"Pft, no," she laughed, taking her satchel from him. "Rose does, though."

"Then I don't have to feel bad for deleting it. Let's go catch the train!" he pulled her to the train station, and the boarded just in time.

They found their seats and sat down. Marinette nibbled on a croissant, lost in thought again as she randomly flipped through her phone. No new messages came through. Adrien had powered down those apps while he was deleting Alya's warnings. She put her phone away and watched the countryside flash past the window, fiddling with the fabric of her got to the stop after a while, and he smiled. "I'll get us drinks from the vending machine, okay?"

"Okay," she smiled up at him, sitting down at a bench near the bathrooms.

He got the sodas, popping them open, and passed one to Marinette. "Here you go, Princess!"

"Thank," she said, taking a sip of soda as she opened her satchel and checked the diary again.

'Adrien and I went out to the country side. He gave me a drugged soda, and now has me tied up in an abandoned hotel. He says he will let me go once all the others are killed.'

She dropped the soda, sending it splashing across the concrete. She covered her mouth and ran into the bathroom. He took her hands as her vision started to blur. "Don't fight it," he whispered in her ear. "You told me to protect you, so that is what I'm doing. I love you." She tried to cry out, but the drug was extremely effective. As she lost consciousness, her phone landed in front of her face- flashing another warning from Alya.

He brought her to an abandoned hotel, one of the many in the city, but one of the few that still had running water and electricity. "Don't worry," he smiled. "You'll be happy. I brought loads of your favorite macarons, and all of your necessities. And you have me. You'll be safe here, okay?" She couldn't respond, the drug had knocked her out cold. In the back of her mind, she could still hear his voice, though it sounded as if she was underwater.

For the next several days it continued, with him regularly drugging her and taking care of her. She couldn't do much; by the time the drugs had worn off enough for her to start to move, he'd give her another dose. After a few days, the cameras Adrien had installed picked something up... Alya. Along with Kim, Max, Theo, Jalil, and Nathanael. They were searching for her.

She woke up while he was distracted by the cameras. She recognized her friends and whispered, "Alya..."

He turned, smiling at her. "Worry not, Princess! I'll get rid of them!"

"N-No!," she gasped, struggling to get up. "They aren't part of the game! Don't hurt them!"

He sighed softly. "If I don't, aren't you going to leave and be in danger again?"

"N-No! I won't leave!" she cried, watching the monitor. "Please!"

He hesitated. "You aren't mad at me?"

She was furious with him, but for the sake of her friends, she had to lie. "I'm not mad."

He looked at the cameras, and then his diary. "It says they're going to take you away."

"Adrien, please!" she begged. "I'll do anything, just don't hurt them!"

Something flashed in his eyes. "You love them more than me?"

"No!" she cried, realizing her mistake. "I love you!" He pressed a button on the panel, locking the kids in a room. "Adrien, stop!" She screamed, adrenaline pumping through her body.

He turned to her, eyes blank. "The diary said you'd leave with them. That you love them more than me. That you hate me."

"No, Adrien!" she screamed, getting up. "It's lying to you!"

He looked at her, and hugged her tightly. "Please don't hate me," he whispered. "Please... I just want to keep you safe, and I asked if you were okay with me doing anything to do that before, and you agreed. Please, don't hate me..."

"Adrien," she whispered, her eyes still on the monitor.

He looked at her. "Yes?"

"Please open the door," she pleaded, finally looking at him. She pulled out her diary as she spoke.

He looked down, not seeing as Kim climbed through the air vents, and came down, holding a baseball bat. "Will you stay with me?"

She didn't look at Kim, but continued to stare into Adrien's eyes. "I-I..."

Kim unlocked the door quietly, and the rest of the group escaped. Adrien was still focusing on Marinette. "Please," he whispered.

"I... can't," she admitted, pushing him away from her.

"You don't love me?"

"No, I don't," she said, shaking her head and backing away from him. "I can't love you, not after what you've done, what you keep doing to me. I can't be terrified of losing people for just talking or touching them!"

Tears began falling down his cheeks. "You told me to protect you..." he didn't get to finish, as Kim knocked him out with the baseball bat.

"C'mon, 'Nette," he offered a hand. "We came to save you!"

She grabbed Kim's hand and stepped over Adrien. "Thanks, Kim! We have to keep moving; I don't know when he'll get up!"

They left the hotel quickly, and ran to meet Chloe in what seemed to be a stolen van. "Get in," she snapped. "Jesus, I knew he'd pull something like this."

Marinette hopped in the van and gave Chloe a hug. "Thank god," she whispered.

"I told you to get away from him," Chloé reminded the other girl. "I TOLD you, but no, the pretty green eyes and promises of eternal love were just too irresistible, right?" she slammed on the gasoline.

"I couldn't!" Marinette gripped the seat tightly. "He'd follow me everywhere! I only went along with it so my friends wouldn't get hurt out of his jealousy!"

"We both know that he only goes so far until you let him. He thinks he's in love with you, he wouldn't want to risk you hating him. So what made him decide you wouldn't mind being drugged, kidnapped, and having your friends nearly killed?"

"Shut up. I've made a lot of mistakes the last couple of days," she said, sitting back down. "What's the plan?"

"We found the eighth Diary holder," Alya explained. "The sever diary. Everyone on her blog site got their own mini-diary, including Kim. It's how he escaped."

"You don't mean... Alya?"

"Not me," she glowered at her phone. "I run my own, thank you very much. God, though, I'm almost wishing I didn't, I'm the only one around without superpowers these days."

"Consider yourself lucky," Marinette said, giving her best friend a hug.

Alya rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. I don't envy the crazy murder parts."

"Yeah, that's the bad parts," Marinette cracked a smile. "So how do we get rid of Eighth?"

"We're going to Kim's place," Chloe explained. "He's got an okay house, right? And he can disable the cell towers, cutting off the blog diaries."

"Sounds great," Marinette closed her eyes, sitting back in the seat and pulling out her diary. 'Adrien isn't coming. Did the blow to the head kill him, or did he give up?' "Adrien isn't coming," she mentioned, slipping the book back into her satchel.

"Nice," Kim grinned. "Hey, maybe I killed the dickhead!"

"I don't know. He's resilient," she frowned, looking over to the athlete.

He shrugged. "How resilient can he possibly be?"

"You don't want to know," she muttered, worried she might jinx them.

"No, we should know," Alya cut in. "We need to know what kind of monster we're up against."

"If he gets up, the diary will tell me," Marinette promised. "But if he gets up, his diary will tell him where I am. And he won't stop until he gets me back."

Alya looked to Marinette. "I won't let him take you again, I promise."

"Thank you," Marinette whispered, resting her head on her shoulder as they rode.

Alya wrapped an arm around Marinette, kissing her cheek. "No problem."

Marinette shut her eyes, listening to the others chatter amongst themselves. They came to Kim's place- a house that was, by Chloe standards, pretty good. Marinette clambered out of the back after Alya and Kim.

"So," Alya smiled. "Can we talk?"

"Yeah, let's get inside first," Marinette offered a smile of her own, holding her friend's hand.

They entered the house. "My parents are out for the week, so it's all mine," Kim laughed.

"Good, then we won't have to worry about talking and them eavesdropping," Marinette looked around the foyer.

"We're going to lure the blog diaries here with you," Alya explained. "Then Max will cut off the internet connection."

"That sounds like a good plan," Marinette said, sitting down next to Max.

"Let's get it set up," Nathanael smiled.

"Stay with me, I'll make a post about where we are," Alya, pulled Marinette away. "To lure them."

"Okay," Marinette agreed, following her. She was glad her friends were doing all this for her.

Alya took a picture. "Hanging with my friends at Kim's place," she typed in. "There."

"That will do it," Marinette sighed, resting the back of her head on the wall.

Alya took her hand gently. "Hey. Mari. Did he hurt you...?"

"No," she said, looking at her feet. "Despite everything he's done, he's never raised a finger against me."

"He never hurt you?" Alya sounded surprised. "He didn't do anything to you while you were drugged?"

"I don't think so," she said, pressing a hand to her forehead. "My clothes were on, and I didn't feel anything- Though it could've been from the drugs."

Alya nodded. "Well, that's good."

Marinette gave her a weak smile. She didn't think that Adrien had done anything to her, but she couldn't be sure…

Suddenly, the powerlines cut out. "What the hell?" Alya demanded, getting up.

"Oh no," Marinette whispered, standing up and running into the living room.

He was waving from below the balcony. "Hello, Princess!" he smiled brightly.

"Alya, stay in the room!" she shouted, running down the staircase. "Kim, lock the door!"

Adrien frowned. "Marinette, you're not being very nice. I was only doing what you told me, you know."

"Kim?! Max!" she screamed for her classmates.

They hurried to the door, where he stood, gaze not leaving Marinette. "Mari," he held a rope out to her, and pushed his wrists together. "Take me as a prisoner. Make me helpless if you want. I don't care, as long as I get to stay near you. Please."

She stood away from him, her gaze flicking to the others. "What do we do?"

They all looked to her. "Up to you girl," Alya shrugged. "He's less of a threat if we have him on a leash."

She nodded, and said, "Kim, tie him up. Adrien, don't hurt him."

He let his wrists be tied, and closed his eyes. "I love you, Marinette."

She hung her head. "I know," she said, grabbing the back of his shirt. "I'll put him somewhere."

He walked with her, looking to her carefully. "I asked if you were okay with it before I did it."

She refused to meet his gaze, leading him into a bedroom. "I wanted you to protect me. That was wrong."

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I knew I was going too far, but I did it anyway. I was just so scared, when I saw you almost die..." Tears filled his eyes, staining his cheeks. "I'm so sorry."

She sat him down on the bed and wiped a tear away with her thumb. "You have to stop trying so hard."

He looked up at her. "Do you hate me?"

"I don't," she said. She couldn't; she knew he wasn't doing it out of malice. "We'll talk later. I have to help the others."

"If it comes to a fight, I want to be there," he spoke softly. "I want to be there to protect you."

"Let me protect you this time," she asked, kissing his forehead and walking out of the room.

He followed her. "Please, Marinette," he begged. "Just in case."

"Stay in here," she ordered, giving his chest a gentle push and shutting the door.

He sighed softly, leaning his forehead against the door. "Whatever you wish."

She paused and rested her own forehead on the door, before heading back down to her classmates. They were exchanging glances. "A car pulled up," Alya explained. "Juleka and Rose. With cell phones."

Marinette paled and whipped out her diary. 'Juleka and Rose are armed. They say they need to fight for a better world. They apologize. This is bad, this is really, really bad...' "Don't open the door!" she shouted, pushing them away from the windows. "Kim, do your parents have any weapons?!"

"Not that I know of?" His eyes were wide. "C'mon, it's Juleka and Rose, they wouldn't hurt us..."

"Trust me! They're armed and they'll kill us!" she bit her lip, then turned to Max. "Go upstairs, untie Adrien, and tell them someone's hurt me. Then all of you go hide in the kitchen and stay away until we come for you!"

"Wait," Max held up a hand. "Some classmates of ours show up with cell phones, something every teenager has, and you suddenly want to let loose crazy on them?"

"Fine, we'll think of something else," she said, peeking out the window. "When they knock, answer. Don't tell them we're here." She ran upstairs to Adrien's room.

He was waiting at the door. "Marinette, my diary set a dead end flag for us both. Are you going to untie me?"

"Yeah, I am," she said, fiddling with the rope until they came undone.

He hugged her, and pressed his lips to hers quickly. "I knew you still trusted me."

She was startled by the kiss, but went with it. "Let's go. I don't know if they'll hurt the others."

He raced down the stairs, pulling a knife from his sleeve. She followed him with the yo-yo, pulling out her diary as she peeked around the corner.

There was an explosion below. "Please let that be Chloe," she whispered, opening her diary to see if the Dead End had disappeared. There was none, as Juleka and Rose ascended the stairs. At least, none so far... She looked at Adrien, placing a finger to her lips as she snuck to a different nodded, following her instruction. She waited until they had made it up the stairs, then threw her yo-yo around Rose's ankle. She yanked it back, knocking her off her feet.

Juleka caught Rose and aimed her gun at where the yo-yo came from. "I'm sorry, Marinette. But I won't let her die."

Marinnette dove out of the way and threw her yo-yo at the gun, hoping to at least distract her. Adrien grabbed her hand, and began running with her. "We don't have a gun, I assume?" he asked in a slightly tense tone. She shook her head. He covered her quickly. "You know," he said conversationally, "this is exactly what I was trying to avoid by kidnapping you."

"Drugging me and keeping in a abandoned building was NOT the way to go," she hissed, keeping an eye on the pair.

"Sending pictures to people who want to kill us was?"

"We were trying to lure people out," she said, pushing him into a room.

He closed the door behind them. "Marinette, remind me, how many people have you killed before?"

"No one!" she whisper-shouted crouching down.

"Right. How many have I killed?"

"I've lost count."

"So you ditch your best weapon, and try to draw out people who want to kill you, all while not thinking that I'll be around to protect you. How the hell did you plan on killing them?"

"I was getting there!" she whispered, pressing her hand on his mouth. "Besides, I had Chloe!"

"Really? Where?"

"She was downstairs."

He frowned. "All the same."

"Look, we just have to figure out the best way to get rid of them."

He nodded. "Okay, um... okay... right. I'm allowed to kill still, right?"

She sighed. "Only diary holders. And if you drug me again, Alya will cut of your private parts."

He raised an eyebrow. "That would be an experience I suppose. But I'm not going to drug you again. That was... wrong of me."

"I'll take that as a apology for now."

"I'm deeply sorry for betraying your trust. I love you, and would never intentionally hurt you."

"And there's the apology," she sighed, signaling him to be quiet as she heard something on the other side of the door.

He silenced himself as Rose tapped at the door. "Hmm... I think you're behind this one."

She pointed to the bed, and crawled under it.

He drew his sword. "Stay there," he whispered. "I'll take care of this. And... close your eyes."

She nodded and shut her eyes, and covered her ears for good measure. "I'm sorry, Rose. Juleka" she whispered.

They stormed the room. The fight seemed to go on for an age... much longer than expected. "No, I won't-" Adrien gasped, as he was knocked to the ground, out cold. She covered her mouth as she heard him hit the floor. She stayed bed was lifted, Juleka standing over her. One eye was missing, the socket bloody, lost in the fight just before.

"Rose, take their diaries. We shouldn't kill them like this, it just wouldn't be right." Rose nodded, collecting Marinette's book and Adrien's phone. She had her fair share of cuts and bruises. "I brought our other classmates outside, they'll be okay." The two girls left after that, leaving Adrien, flesh filleted, and gasping, on the ground.

"Adrien!" She gasped, running over to him and watching the two girls leave. She cupped his face with her hands, fingers running over his cuts.

His eyes fluttered open, and he clung to her, shaking as he cried in pain and relief. "You're okay... you're not hurt... thank god I didn't fail you... I'm so sorry I wasn't strong enough... thank god you're okay..."

"I'm fine, I'm okay- They have our diaries," she said, brushing his hair off his forehead.

He kissed her suddenly, desperately, as if he was dying, as if it was the last chance he'd get. For all they knew, it could be. She returned the kiss, holding the back of his head. She felt tears slide down her face and splash on his wounds.

He hugged her tightly. "I'll figure something out," he whispered. "I'll get the diaries back. I won't let you die, I swear."

She hugged him tightly, knowing he would do whatever it took. He tried to stand, and nearly screamed in pain, blood spilling from dozens of slashes. "Stay down!" she cried, holding onto his shoulders.

He closed his eyes, clinging to her. "I... I think I need the hospital."

"Hold on, we can get out of this," she said, leaning him on her shoulder.

He nodded. "I'm sorry. I failed you, didn't I?"

"No, you did fine," she promised, leading him down the hallway. "Don't speak, you'll lose more blood."

He nodded, holding onto her. She led him out of the house, ignoring the blood that stained her clothes. He looked down, closing his eyes. "I love you."

"Don't fall asleep!" she ordered, tapping his cheek. "Stay awake, we can get help!"

He nodded. "Please..."

She led him to a street corner, begging people to call an ambulance.

An ambulance was called, and they were brought to the hospital. Adrien was put in intensive care, and after several hours, they said she could see him. If she wanted to.

"I will," she said, standing up. She walked down the hallway and peeked through his door. "Adrien?"

He smiled up at her from the hospital bed. "Hey... you okay?"

"I'm fine. Just a few cuts and bruises" she said, sitting in the chair next to the bed. "How're you doing?"

"I heal really fast," he smiled. "I should be fine by tomorrow."

"You have to stay here," she said, resting her hand on his arm. "You heard the doctors."

"We only have sixteen days left in this survival game," he reminded her.

"You can risk a few days," she looked out the window.

"Not really," he frowned.

She sighed. "I'm going to talk to Nathaniel soon. We can try to make a game plan to get our diaries back."

He frowned. "I'm coming too."

"Just stay here for a bit," she kissed his forehead.

He looked up at her. "Marinette, it's just a few scratches."

"Just stay here till the doctor says you can leave" she said, standing up.

"Please stay with me," he whispered softly.

"I'll be back soon, I promise." She gave him another kiss as she went to meet Nathaniel.

He took her hand. "Let me come with you, please, please..."

She sighed, knowing she couldn't get rid of him. "Get changed first. You can't walk around in a hospital gown."

"Thank you," he beamed.

"You're welcome," she rolled her eyes, turning away so he could change. He pulled on a fresh t-shirt and jeans. "Ready?" She asked, opening the door.

He nodded, taking her hand. "Ready!"

She nodded and led him out of the hospital after checking him out at the front desk.

He kissed her cheek. "Next time, we'll win."

"I hope you're right," she murmured, walking with him to Nathaniel.

The redhead waved, sitting next to Chloe. "Hey, guys! Um... we have a plan, sort of!"

"Great. Let's hear it," Marinette said, sitting down next to him.

"We got a call," Chloe explained. "From Rose and Juleka, demanding that, once healed, you and Adrien come to this address," she pushed a paper over. "For a final fight. Lovers against lovers."

"A fight?" she asked, looking over at Adrien. "This might be tough; Juleka and Adrien might be matched in the over-protective lover department."

"Rose was fighting too," Chloe pointed out. "And you were not."

"Adrien wouldn't let me," she said, rolling her eyes. "If there's even a tiny chance I'll get hurt, y'know he won't let me fight."

"That's the problem," Nathanael frowned. "Rose and Juleka together are more than a match for Adrien alone. You two need to work as a team to defeat them."

"I understand," she said, looking over at the blond boy.

He hesitated, and nodded. "Alright. Okay. We can figure out a strategy."

"Great. Do you know any weaknesses they might have?" Marinette asked Chloe.

"Each other."

"Alright. So Adrien, you can target Juleka, and I'll take on Rose."

He nodded. "Okay."

"Should we call them now?"

"I think we should," Adrien ran a hand through his hair.

She dialed the number, putting to her ear.

Rose answered. "Hello, Marinette."

"Hello, Rose," she said calmly, as if she was just calling about homework.

"We're waiting for you."

"We'll be on our way," she promised hanging up and grabbing the address.

He took her hand. "We'll win."

"We have to," she said, the faces of all the other people who died because of the game flashing through her mind. "It's the only way to make up for what we've done."

He smiled sadly. "Right. And you can make the world whatever you want."

She nodded and looked at Chloe and Nathaniel. "Thank you both so much."

Chloe crossed her arms. "Hey, I'm only on your side for the minute. You two can eliminate a lot of competition for me. I'm still playing to win, this is a temp thing."

"I know." Marinette gave her a sad smile. "Let's go, Adrien."

He took her hand, and hailed a taxi. They hopped in, Marinnette gave the driver the address, and they took off. He took her hand, kissing it gently. "Hey, how are we doing this?"

"We'll try to get you a weapon before we get in there, and then we'll have to work together to take them out."

"Sounds good," he nodded. She pulled out her yo-yo and kept an eye out for any stores that could sell weapons. Luckily, Adrien was very creative what could be a weapon. He glanced around, and saw.. an umbrella. Slowly, he began smiling. They soon pulled up at the address. Marinette paid the driver, and he sped off. He kissed her cheek. "You ready, my Lady?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," she said, gripping her weapon tightly.

He nodded, and brought her up the stairs... to where Juleka and Rose stood, dressed in wedding gowns. Just as Tom and Sabine stormed in, both looking positively livid.

"M-Mama? Papa!" Marinette exclaimed, hiding her yo-yo behind her back. "What are you doing here?!"

"You've been missing for four days!" Tom exclaimed. "And then, your mother and I get a call saying you and Adrien were admitted to the HOSPITAL, but LEFT before you should have, and now we find you HERE?"

"Please, I'll explain later!" she pleaded, glancing over at Juleka and Rose. "You have to get out of here!"

Sabine shook her head. "You're coming home right now, clearly Adrien is a TERRIBLE influence!"

"Mama!" she shouted, backing up into Adrien.

He wrapped his arms around her. "Sorry, Mr. and Mrs. D-C, but Mari and I need to go kill those two girls," he gestured to Rose and Juleka. "We can discuss this later."

"Please," she begged her parents, locking eyes with Rose.

Rose and Juleka looked slightly panicked. "Um..."

"Let's go, ignore the people who won't actually murder us," he pulled her down towards the fight.

She gave her parents an apologetic look, then pulled out her yo-yo and whirled it around threateningly. He drew the umbrella, holding it like a sword. She glanced over her shoulder at her horrified parents, then gritted her teeth and rushed towards Rose. Rose drew her weapon, and engaged in a fight, while Adrien fought against Juleka. Marinette managed to dodge Rose's attacks, keeping her a bay with her yo-yo.

Rose dropped her bouquet, and their diaries fell out.

Marinette swiped the two and shoved her back, opening her own to see what the outcome would be.

"Rose!" Jueka cried out, as the blond fell back, and... There was an explosion.

The floor gave out from under them, trapping Adrien, Marinette and Rose. Rose wasn't moving.

"Rose?" Marinette asked, gently pushing her shoulder. She opened the diary and tried to read the entry in the dim light. 'Rose is dying. We're trapped. Adrien started torturing Rose to get Juleka to dig us out.' "I'm sorry, Rose," she whispered, brushing a lock of hair off her forehead.

He pulled a rock from the side. "I need to. You realize that, right?"

"...No," she said, looking up and cupping her hands. "Juleka! Rose needs you! She's dying!"

The rocks began to move. "I know. I read it. And I also read Adrien's intentions."

"Please. Just come down, and I won't let him do that to her," ashe called back, covering Rose with her jacket.

The rocks shifted aside, revealing light. "As if I would leave her," she hissed. Her stomach was pierced through with Adrien's umbrella, as she climbed down, holding Rose in her arms. "There's parachutes. You won. Leave us."

"I'm sorry," she said, resting her hand on hers for a brief second. She then turned to Adrien and motioned him to help her climb out.

As they came out, Adrien's eyes widened. "Don't look," he told her softly.

"What are you talking about?" she asked, starting to turn.

Her parents' bodies lay in the rubble.

"Mom! Dad!" She screamed, running to their sides. She tried to push the rubble off of them.

"Marinette, we need to get out," he whispered softly. "The structure is unstable, it's coming down."

"We can't leave them!" she sobbed, crying onto her father's chest.

He took her hand. "If we die here, you can't bring them back."

She clung to them, sobbing. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" she cried, finally letting go.

He kissed her cheek, getting the parachutes, and they jumped. She shut her eyes, trying to keep the tears from blinding her. "Let's go," he murmured, as the building collapsed behind them. "As far as anyone knows, we were never there."

She nodded, wiping her eyes. She had to do this. She had to finish it, for her parents.

He kissed her gently. "I love you."

She turned her head away."Not now, Adrien," she said, taking a shaky breath.

He nodded. "Do you want me to leave?"

"No. We have to find the others," she said, handing him his diary and opening her own.

He nodded, flipping through his phone... A knife was pressed to his neck.

Marinette whipped around, pulling out her yo-yo.

Men surrounded them. "Eleventh sends his regards."

She gritted her teeth and whipped her yo-yo in different directions, trying to take out as many as possible. Blades appeared at the end of the yo-yo, and one by one, the men were cut apart, falling to the ground, leaving Adrien staring in awe. "You just killed..."

She yanked it back, her eyes full of rage and grief. She aimed for the man holding Adrien, cutting him to pieces.

Released, he knelt before her, smiling. "Hey."

She stood there, breathing heavily. "Hey."

He gazed up at her, looking awed. "You were so incredible."

"Be amazed later." She growled, grabbing his arm and dragging him to his feet. "We're ending this game."

"Marinette, I think I know how we can do this," he smiled softly. "We need to find Eight. And make an alliance."

"Then let's find them," she said, opening her diary.

"We need to get Eleventh first," he took her hand. "We need information. Our diaries record things that happen around us. We need to go to the place where all the information is. We need to go to City Hall."


	8. Chapter 8

Five days passed. There were only eleven left in the survival game. Marinette pressed her palms over her eyes. If she had to look at one more piece of paper, she was going to stab someone.

"Mayor Bourgeois is Eleventh," Adrien spoke softly. "Chloe Bourgeois is Ninth. And Eighth..."

"Adrien, let's take a quick break," she groaned, getting up and pacing. "We need to figure out how to get Chloe and her father at the same time, but if I have to pounder this for one more minute I'm jumping off the Effiel Tower."

"Eighth is Caline Bustier," he whispered. "He's trying to shut down the school to get her server Diary. I'm sure of it."

"He can take care of her, then. Then we'll take him out!" Marinette had an unhinged look deep in her eyes. She had barely slept or eaten anything since her parents' deaths.

Adrien looked to her, for once, the calm one. "We have a meeting today, with all of them. And I don't think he wants to take her out, I think he wants to ally with her. So we need to ally with her first, and kill all her devoted students, and then her. Eliminate the threat, and then eliminate Eleven. And Chloe will be easy to backstab."

"You're right, you're right," she muttered, taking a deep breath to calm herself down.

He kissed her cheek. "We should get you some food, okay?"

"Okay..." She sat down, fidgeting. She wanted to end this game as soon as possible.

He brought her macarons, the kind she'd told him were her favorites, and a croissant for himself. "Eat. And then think about your strategy. Remember what I told you about how to act and give lines. This alliance needs to be believable."

"Okay," she repeated, nibbling on a macaroon while she went over her plan in her head.

He kissed her forehead. "You ready to be god?"

"I'm ready to fix all the mistakes," she whispered, her eyes flashing like a storm.

He smiled brightly. "Are we the good ones?"

"Yes." She cupped his cheek. "We're going to bring all of them back, we're going to fix all the mistakes."

"You are," he corrected her gently. "Don't forget, you have to kill me first."

"I know," she bit her lip, lowering her head. "I'll make it quick, I promise. You won't be gone long."

He smiled, and almost looked sad. "I'll always be with you, and I'll always protect you. You made me good."

She pressed her forehead to his, giving his nose a kiss. "I know." He hugged her suddenly. Eleven days left with her. It would have to be enough. She petted his head, looking up at the ceiling. Almost... It was almost over.

He hugged her tighter. "I'm glad that I'm dying for you." She didn't respond, just continued to stroke his head. He purred softly. "I love you..."

"...I love you too," she promised, giving him a kiss. It wasn't a lie, was it? She shut her eyes and went over the plan for the meeting, as she broke the kiss.

"Now, you're going to be the one doing all the talking," he reminded her. "You need to seem confident, and dangerous."

"I know." She took a deep breath. "Hopefully they don't see through my acting."

"They won't," he promised. "You've gotten really good."

She nodded and got up, stretching her arms above her head.

He smiled, as the meeting began taking them to the other place.

"Five remain," Tikki remarked. "First, Second, you're late."

"Sorry, we had other things to attend to," Marinette replied, raising an eyebrow of defiance.

"I was about to erase both of you from existence, at Eleventh's request. Be on time," Tikki smiled, viciousness hidden behind the sweetness.

Adrien glanced to her. "Marinette, is his name Eleventh?"

"Mayor Bourgeois, you have a lot of nerve complaining about us being late," Marinette laughed, glaring over at the shadowed form of Eleventh.

The masks fell, leaving everyone revealed in the arena. "How did you...?" The man looked shocked.

"A lady never tells," Marinette winked, pressing a finger to her lips.

Adrien kissed her cheek, arms draped around her. "Impressive," he whispered.

She leaned into his arms, looking up at Tikki. "So, anything you wanted to say?"

The god smiled. "Just that I'm proud of each and every one of you."

"As if," she said, rolling her eyes. "All you care about is this stupid game. We're all nothing but pawns to you."

"You're my predecessors," Tikki corrected. "I am dying, and one of you will take over the casualty continuem."

"Fantastic," she mumbled, leaning back into Adrien's arms.

"Now that you know all," Tikki smiled. "What is your plan?"

"I propose a face-to-face meeting," Marinette tilted her head, her eyes flicking to Chloe and her father.

Chloe shrugged. "You have my cell number. We literally had coffee a few days ago when we were talking about how to kill Rose and Juleka."

"I meant with the both of you," she shot back. "We both knew it would come down to this."

He crossed his arms. "That girl has not been my daughter in a year."

"That's cold, Mr. Mayor." Marinette's tone softened a degree. "She's still your daughter."

"She's a deranged terrorist. I refuse to meet with her. Kill her if you like."

"Sure- but then I'm coming after you."

Chloe stared. "Um, hey! Right here?"

"Sorry, Chloe," she sighed, rubbing her eyes. "Look, are we done here? You can come if you want or not."

She pouted. "Ugh, whatever."

Caline raised a hand. "Can I just say that the fact that three of the competitors left are minors is really, really messed up?"

"This entire game is messed up," Marinette sighed, turning to her former teacher.

"It really is," Adrien laughed softly, kissing her cheek. "Alliance," he reminded her, in a very quiet whisper.

She nodded, glancing around at the remaining Diary holders.

"Well, am I still with you guys or not?" Chloe snapped.

"Yeah, you are," Marinette sighed, returning her gaze to the pouty blonde.

She nodded. "Good. Because I really, really want to be part of killing my dad."

"Then one of us is going to have fun doing it..."

She laughed. "This'll rock."

"Can we go now?" Marinette turned back to Tikki.

The god nodded. "Released."

"Finally."

Marinette closed her eyes, feeling Adrien's hand burning against hers as they fell out of the other place.

They landed next to each other, and he hugged her. "You were awesome!"

"Thanks. I was actually pretty nervous," she said, looking a little embarrassed.

"Now we just need to call Ms. B," he grinned. "Andthenkillabunchoforphans."

"What was that last part?" she asked, tilting her head.

He rubbed his neck. "My plan kinda involves... killing a bunch of orphaned children... haha..."

She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Is there any OTHER course of action where we don't kill children?"

He shook his head. "Not really, no."

"Can't we just take them hostage or something?" she asked.

He shook his head. "No, we have to pretend to be on their side to get Ms. B's guard down. Then when the mayor shuts down her server, we'll need to cut through them all to get to her and kill her."

"Fine," she sighed, turning her head. "If it's the only way."

He smiled cheerfully. "Don't worry, it'll be fine!"

"Let's hurry up and finish this," she said, standing up and dusting herself off.

He nodded. "Make the call."

She dialed the number and waited for Caline to pick up. Ring... ring... "Yes, Marinette?"

"Mrs. Bustier, we wanted to talk to you," Marinette said, walking around as she talked. "We plan to take out the mayor, but we need some help... if you're willing?"

"I am," Caline agreed. "You children need protection. I've been staying out of the game for far too long.''

"Thank you so much," Marinette said, putting on her innocent, pre-game voice. "We can come to you, or we can meet up in a different location."

"Meet me outside the city. He's taking a trip to the South of France soon, and we should ambush him."

"Alright, we'll be there," she said, hanging up. "We need to meet her outside of Paris."

Adrien nodded. "Alright. Are you prepared for this?"

"I have to be." She pulled out her yo-yo, not meeting his eyes.

He kissed her cheek. "You will be." She nodded and ran her finger along the top of the deadly toy. He laughed softly. "I knew you'd like it."

"It feels so natural to use."

He nodded. "You wield it well."

"Yeah," she agreed, sticking it back into her satchel and opening her diary.

He kissed her cheek. "I wish I could see how wonderful a god you'll be."

"You will," she told him, looking up. "I'll bring you back, I promise."

He nodded slowly. "Right. Yeah, of course. We should get going to meet Eighth."

"Alright," she said, putting her diary and weapon in her satchel. He hailed a taxi, and held the door for her. She climbed inside and gave the driver the directions. He took her hand gently, and she gave it a squeeze. "Before we get there, there's something I really need to ask you."

He looked to her, wide-eyed. "Yes, Marinette?"

"I want you to tell me about... What happened to your father?"

He cringed. "Once it's just you and me. After eight, eleven, and nine are dead."

She nodded her head. "That's a promise?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "That's a promise. Before you kill me."

"Okay." She looked out the window.

He kissed her cheek. "I love you."

"I love you too," she murmured, turning and giving him a kiss

He kissed her back, eyes closing, and wondered how she'd react, when he told her everything... when he confessed to his lies.


End file.
